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Newsletter: Where Service Meets Reader Approval. TMI Tax Updates - e-Newsletter September 15, 2012 Case Laws in this Newsletter: Income Tax Customs Corporate Laws Service Tax Central Excise Indian Laws Articles 1. Service Tax – Reverse charge method (RCM) will be more effective and simple than mechanism of Service Tax Deduction at Source(STDS) . By: DEVKUMAR KOTHARI Summary: The article discusses the effectiveness of the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) over Service Tax Deduction at Source (STDS) for service tax collection. The author advocates expanding RCM to include more services, especially where service receivers are larger organizations than providers, to streamline compliance. The proposed SP and SR lists aim to simplify tax collection by reducing the number of taxable entities while increasing the taxable service value. The author argues that STDS is inefficient, potentially increasing tax evasion and administrative burdens, as it requires extensive monitoring and could lead to unnecessary procedural complexities and refunds. 2. Reversal of Cenvat credit on waste and scrap of Capital Goods, Spares and accessories By: JAMES PG Summary: Sub rule (5A) of Rule 3 in the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, effective from April 1, 2012, mandates that when capital goods, on which CENVAT credit has been availed, are removed as scrap or waste, a specified amount must be paid. The calculation is based on a straight-line depreciation method for each quarter. Practical challenges include correlating scrap sales with credit taken and complying with environmental restrictions. The rule has been contested, as seen in a case where it was determined that credit cannot be denied for input loss during manufacturing. Clarifications from the Board are anticipated to address these issues. 3. Lower/Nil rate of tax deduction certificate for works contractors under Punjab VAT Act, 2005 By: AMIT BAJAJ ADVOCATE Summary: Under the Punjab VAT Act, 2005, works contractors often face excess tax deductions compared to their actual tax liability, leading to blocked working capital. Section 27 mandates a 5% tax deduction on payments exceeding Rs. 5 lakh, even for sub-contractors, without excluding labor or service elements. This results in double deductions in sub-contracted projects. Legal precedents suggest tax deductions should only apply to taxable turnover, excluding labor and inter-state sales. To address excess deductions, contractors can apply for a NIL or lower rate tax deduction certificate under Section 27(10), ensuring deductions align with actual tax liabilities. News 1. Permitting FDI in multi-brand product retail trading. Summary: The Indian Cabinet approved a proposal to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trading under specific conditions. This decision, initially made in 2011, required further consensus and consultations with state governments and industry stakeholders. States like Delhi, Assam, and Maharashtra supported the policy, while others like Bihar and Kerala expressed reservations. Key conditions include setting up retail outlets in cities with populations over 10 lakhs, investing at least 50% of FDI in backend infrastructure within three years, and ensuring 30% procurement from Indian small industries. The policy aims to enhance supply chain efficiencies, create employment, and improve product quality for consumers and farmers. 2. Amendment of conditions in the policy on Foreign Direct Investment in single-brand product retail trading. Summary: The Indian government has amended its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for single-brand retail trading. Previously, FDI up to 100% was allowed if the foreign investor owned the brand, and sourcing 30% from Indian small industries was mandatory for investments above 51%. The amendment allows a single non-resident entity to undertake retail trading through a legal agreement with the brand owner, relaxing ownership requirements. The 30% sourcing rule remains but is now more flexible, considering feasibility across sectors. This change aims to attract foreign investment, enhance local production, and integrate Indian producers into global supply chains, benefiting local industries and exports. 3. CCI launches a Knowledge Partnership Initiative (KPI) with Prominent Law Schools . Summary: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has initiated a Knowledge Partnership Initiative (KPI) with several prominent law schools across India. This initiative aims to strengthen the knowledge base in competition law, promote compliance, and enhance the law's outreach. The inaugural meeting, chaired by the CCI Chairperson, included participation from Vice Chancellors and Professors of ten law schools. The collaboration will focus on research, education, and advocacy in the field of competition law. 4. Exports for August 2012 Stood at USD 22.3 Billion. Summary: India's exports in August 2012 were USD 22.3 billion, a 9.7% decrease from August 2011's USD 24.7 billion. Imports also fell by 5.08% to USD 38 billion from USD 40 billion in the same period. The trade deficit for August 2012 was USD 15.7 billion, slightly higher than August 2011's USD 15.3 billion. Cumulatively, from April to August 2012, exports totaled USD 120 billion, while imports were USD 191.1 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 71.1 billion. Key export sectors included engineering, petroleum products, and gems, while major imports were crude petroleum and gold. 5. Anand Sharma Addresses State Chief Secretaries and Industry Secretaries on Manufacturing. Summary: The Union Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles addressed state officials on the National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), highlighting incentives available for industrial clusters through self-regulated Special Purpose Vehicles. Nine townships along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor have been notified, with a single window clearance mechanism for regulatory approvals. The NMP aims to increase manufacturing's GDP share to 25% and create 100 million jobs within a decade. It introduces capital gains tax concessions for investments in small and medium enterprises and a Technology Acquisition Development Fund. The policy also addresses skilled manpower shortages and advocates for land availability for industrial use. 6. The Government is Intensively Engaged with Industry on the Constraints that Affect Industrial Production and Will Continue its Efforts to Find Practical Solutions to the Problems: FM Summary: The Indian government is actively working with the industrial sector to address challenges impacting production, as stated by the Union Finance Minister. The latest Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for July 2012 indicate a disappointing economic performance, with only 8 out of 22 industry groups showing positive growth. Although the General Index for July 2012 is slightly positive at 0.1%, it is premature to consider this a turnaround. The sector-wise analysis shows mixed results, with some areas like manufacturing and capital goods improving, while others like electricity and consumer goods are lagging. 7. CBDT explains the rationale behind APA scheme Summary: The Ministry of Finance has introduced the Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) Scheme through notification No. 36/2012, effective from August 30, 2012. The APA is a voluntary agreement between the Central Board of Direct Taxes and a taxpayer to pre-determine the arm's length price for international transactions, reducing transfer pricing disputes. The scheme offers unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral APAs, allowing applicants to choose based on their needs. It provides tax certainty, reduces double taxation risk, and lowers compliance costs. The process involves pre-filing consultations, application submissions, and annual compliance reports, with provisions for cancellation and revision. Notifications Central Excise 1. 35/2012 - dated 14-9-2012 - CE Amends Sl. No. 70 and 71 of Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise. Summary: The Government of India, through the Ministry of Finance, issued Notification No. 35/2012-Central Excise on September 14, 2012, amending Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise. The amendments involve changes to the tariff rates specified in the notification, specifically altering the rates in Sl. No. 70 and 71. For Sl. No. 70, the rate is revised to 1.20 per litre, and for Sl. No. 71, the rate is updated to 1.46 per litre. These amendments are made under the authority of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and are deemed necessary in the public interest. Companies Law 2. F. No.1/1/2003 – CL.V (Pt. file) - dated 30-8-2012 - Co. Law Delegation of Powers to Regional Directors u/s 17,18,19,141 and 188 of the Companies Act,1956. Summary: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has delegated powers to Regional Directors under sections 17, 18, 19, 141, and 188 of the Companies Act, 1956. Applications and petitions previously handled by the Company Law Board (CLB) are transferred to Regional Directors. Companies or stakeholders who have already paid fees for these petitions are not required to pay again. Any objections received by the CLB regarding these petitions will be forwarded to the respective Regional Directors by the CLB Secretary. Customs 3. 41/2012 - dated 13-9-2012 - ADD Seeks to amend notification No. 103/2007-Customs, dated 14th September,2007 so as to continue, up to and inclusive of 12th September, 2013, the anti-dumping duty on imports of Ductile Iron Pipes , originating in, or exported from, China PR. Summary: The notification amends a previous order to extend the anti-dumping duty on imports of Ductile Iron Pipes from China. Originally imposed by the Indian Ministry of Finance in 2007, this duty is now extended until September 12, 2013. The extension follows a review initiated by the designated authority under the Customs Tariff Act and related rules. The amendment specifies that the anti-dumping duty will remain effective unless revoked earlier. 4. 52/2012 - dated 13-9-2012 - Cus Seeks to amend notification No. 94/1996-Customs - Exemption to re-imported goods exported under various Export Promotion Schemes. Summary: The Government of India has issued Notification No. 52/2012-Customs, amending Notification No. 94/1996-Customs, which provides exemptions for re-imported goods exported under various Export Promotion Schemes. The amendment introduces a new entry, 2C, to the table, exempting parts and components of aircraft replaced or removed during maintenance in a Special Economic Zone and brought back to India. It also specifies that these goods must be returned to the aircraft owner without sale. The notification aims to streamline customs procedures for aircraft components and aligns with public interest considerations. 5. 51/2012 - dated 13-9-2012 - Cus Seeks to amend notification No.12/2012-Cus,dated 17.03.2012 to provide concessional rate of duty on Gold Findings and to extend the list of items under Sr. No.282. Summary: The Government of India has issued Notification No. 51/2012-Customs to amend Notification No. 12/2012-Customs, dated 17th March 2012. This amendment provides a concessional rate of duty on gold findings and extends the list of items under Sr. No. 282 to include various textile and accessory items. Additionally, it revises the description for Sr. No. 323 to cover gold bars, coins, and findings with specific conditions, excluding imports through post, courier, or baggage. The amendment aims to adjust customs duties in the public interest under the Customs Act, 1962. Circulars / Instructions / Orders Income Tax 1. [F.No. A.50050/95/2012-Ad.I] - dated 1-9-2012 Constitution of an Expert Committee on GAAR to undertake stakeholder consultations to finalize the guidelines for General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) - Scope of terms of Reference of Expert Committee on GAAR expanded Summary: An Expert Committee on General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) has been established to engage in stakeholder consultations and finalize GAAR guidelines. The scope of the committee's terms of reference has been expanded to include examining the applicability of amendments concerning the taxation of non-resident asset transfers, specifically where the underlying asset is located in India. The committee is tasked with analyzing this issue for all non-resident taxpayers and is required to submit its recommendations to the government by September 30, 2012. FEMA 2. 29 - dated 12-9-2012 Overseas Direct Investments by Indian Party – Rationalisation Summary: The circular addresses amendments to the guidelines for Indian parties with overseas Joint Ventures (JV) or Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOS). These parties must submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) to designated Authorised Dealer banks by June 30 each year, based on the latest audited accounts, unless exempted. Exemptions for using unaudited accounts, as specified in a previous circular, remain valid. Amendments to the relevant Foreign Exchange Management Regulations are forthcoming. Authorised Dealer banks are instructed to inform their clients of these changes, which are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. 3. 30 - dated 12-9-2012 Comprehensive Guidelines on Over the Counter (OTC) Foreign Exchange Derivatives – Cost Reduction Structures Summary: The circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provides comprehensive guidelines for Authorized Dealer Category - I banks regarding Over the Counter (OTC) Foreign Exchange Derivatives, specifically focusing on cost reduction structures. It references previous regulations and permits the use of cross currency and foreign currency-INR option cost reduction structures to hedge exchange rate risks related to trade transactions, External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs), and foreign currency loans against FCNR(B) deposits. Amendments to the relevant regulations will be notified separately, and banks are instructed to inform their clients of these updates. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. Customs 4. F.No. 405/2/2001-Cus.III - dated 4-9-2012 Order of the Supreme Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 657 of 1995 in the matter of Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Natural Resource Policy Vs Union of India (UOI), relating to Ship-breaking- regarding. Summary: The Supreme Court's order in Writ Petition No. 657 of 1995 concerns the regulation of ship-breaking activities in India. The Ministry of Steel is developing a Ship Recycling Code based on the Supreme Court's 2007 directives, expert recommendations, and stakeholder requirements. Until the code is finalized, the Court's 2007 order remains in effect, mandating oversight by Gujarat Maritime Board, Pollution Control Board, Customs, and other agencies. The circular outlines procedures for ship anchoring and beaching, including document submission, reviews, and appeals. Compliance with the Supreme Court's directives is mandatory for permitting ship entry into Indian waters for dismantling. Companies Law 5. Letter [F. No. 1/1/2003-CL.V (Pt. File)] - dated 30-8-2012 Delegation of powers to Regional Directors Summary: The circular addresses the delegation of powers to Regional Directors concerning certain sections of the Companies Act, 1956. It clarifies that companies or stakeholders who have already paid fees for pending cases under sections 17, 18, 19, 141, and 188 need not pay again following the transfer of these cases from the Company Law Board (CLB) to Regional Directors due to legal requirements. Additionally, any objections received by the CLB regarding these petitions will be forwarded to the relevant Regional Directors by the CLB Secretary. Highlights / Catch Notes Income Tax Supreme Court Rules Contingent Deposits Collected for Sales Tax Liability are Taxable Income. Case-Laws - SC : Contingent deposits from the leasing/hire purchase customers with a view to protect themselves from sales tax liability - assessee claims that it is refundable in case he wins the sales tax case - held as taxable income - SC Visit to Get Source Interest Income on Foreign Currency Deposit: Business Income or Other Sources? Case Sent Back to ITAT for Review. Case-Laws - SC : Business income or Income from other sources - Interest income on Foreign Currency Deposit Account - Matter remitted back to ITAT to decide afresh after examining as done by the Madras High Court in the case of Menon Impex Private Limited [2002 (9) TMI 75]. - SC Visit to Get Source Assessee companies can maintain consolidated accounts; no unit-wise accounts needed per Sections 80HH and 80I. Case-Laws - SC : Neither Section 80HH nor Section 80I statutorily obliged assessee company to maintain its accounts unit-wise - it was open for it to maintain its accounts in a consolidated form in order to put an end to the litigation between the Tax Department and the PSU - SC Visit to Get Source Maintaining Parks in Mumbai Deemed Charitable u/s 2(15) of Income Tax Act for Environmental Preservation. Case-Laws - AT : Charitable purpose u/s 2(15) - In the place like Mumbai, where we are encountered only with tall buildings and sky scrapers, a park is maintained and developed which not only gives fresh air but invites the people at large to come, enjoy and spend time in the company of fresh grass, flowers, and gives a breath of fresh air, would certainly fall within the words, "preservation of environment" - AT Visit to Get Source Court Criticizes AO for Ignoring Binding Circular on Film Royalty Expenses, Labels Decision as Speculative and Hyper-Technical. Case-Laws - AT : Royalty expenditure - Capital OR Revenue - assessee purchased distribution rights of the Punjabi film - As the AO has ignored the Board Circular No. 92 dated 18.9.1972 pertaining to writing off royalty/distribution expenses of films which is binding on tax authorities thus the action of the AO was based on surmises and conjectures, without considering the nature of business of the assessee which was supported by hyper approach ignoring the Board Circular - AT Visit to Get Source Court Upholds No TDS Requirement on Travel Agent Commission u/s 40a(ia) of Income Tax Act. Case-Laws - AT : TDS on commission/fee paid to Consortium Members - travel agents - Since the assessee only distributed the income in terms of the agreement and this did not amount to incurring of an expenditure no infirmity in the findings of the CIT(A) in deleting the disallowance u/s 40a(ia). - AT Visit to Get Source Interest on Income Tax Refund for Permanent Establishment Not Taxable Under Articles 12(5) or 12(2) of India-France DTAA. Case-Laws - AT : Interest on refund of income tax received by the PE of the assessee - taxability - applicability of Article 12(5) or Article 12(2) of DTAA between India and France - not taxable - AT Visit to Get Source Court Remands Case for Further Review on Section 14A Disallowance; Assessee Failed to Provide Necessary Expense Details. Case-Laws - AT : Disallowance u/s 14A r.w.r. 8D - Even where the assessee claims that no expenditure has been incurred in relation to income which does not form part of total income, the AO is required to verify the correctness of such claim but in the instant case the AO was handicapped, because of failure of the assessee to furnish relevant details/particulars - matter remanded back - AT Visit to Get Source Correction of Business Loss u/s 154: Carry Forward Until 2006-07, Not 2007-08. Case-Laws - AT : Rectification u/s 154 - Admittedly, this is a mistake apparent from record as this business loss determined in AY 1998-99 can be carried forward till 2006-07 and not in the relevant AY 2007-08. - AT Visit to Get Source Benefit u/s 54F Allowed Despite Uncertainty in Building Condition for Long-Term Capital Gains Exemption. Case-Laws - AT : LTCG - exemption u/s 54F - At this point of time, it is not possible to verify the condition of the building and or to whether it was habitable at the time of its purchase. - benefit u/s 54F allowed - AT Visit to Get Source Capital Gains Tax on Cooperative Housing Society Flat Sale: Cost of Acquisition, Registration Expenses, and Improvement Costs Analyzed. Case-Laws - AT : Capital gains - sale of flat allotted by cooperative housing society - cost of acquisition, non-allowance of registration expenses and cost of improvement - cost as claimed by assessee accepted - AT Visit to Get Source CIT cannot use Section 263 to force AO to revisit issues not in original order or CIT(A) appeal. Case-Laws - AT : Issues which were neither the subject matter of AO’s order u/s.143(3) nor the subject matter of the appeal before the CIT(A) - CIT in exercise of his powers u/s.263 cannot compel the AO to consider those aspects. - AT Visit to Get Source Income Must Be Assessed in the Year Earned, Not Carried to Other Tax Periods, Per Tax Regulations. Case-Laws - AT : The income relatable to earlier year cannot be added to the income of this year - AT Visit to Get Source Government Company Denied Deduction for Unpaid Loan Interest Due to Non-Payment of Principal and Interest Installments. Case-Laws - AT : Interest on government loan - Government company - assessee has not paid even a single instalment of either the principal amount or the interest - claim of of deduction as accrual of interest not accepted - AT Visit to Get Source Expert Committee Formed to Finalize GAAR Guidelines, Expands Scope for Comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement and Input. Circulars : Constitution of an Expert Committee on GAAR to undertake stakeholder consultations to finalize the guidelines for General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) - Scope of terms of Reference of Expert Committee on GAAR expanded - Order-Instruction Visit to Get Source Assessing Business Income: Is the Assessee an "Agent" or an "Arm" of the State for Tax Exemption? Case-Laws - AT : Assessment of business income - whether the assessee should be held to be an “agent” of the State or an “arm” of the State and exempt from assessment of income? - AT Visit to Get Source Commissioner Can Revise Faulty Assessment Orders u/s 263 to Protect Revenue Interests. Case-Laws - AT : Revision u/s 263 by CIT(A) - It is settled position of law that failure to make enquires which are required in the facts of the case would itself make the assessment order erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue. - AT Visit to Get Source Rental Income Not Trade/Business Income if Services Provided Are Insignificant and Incidental to Property Use. Case-Laws - AT : Rental income from the property - the income does not become income from trade or business if the hiring is inclusive of certain additional services such as heating, cleaning, lighting or sanitation, which are relatively insignificant and only incidental to the use. - AT Visit to Get Source Mutuality Principle: Member Welfare Focus Keeps Entity Status Unchanged by Non-Member Income. Case-Laws - AT : Principle of Mutuality - as predominant object of the assessee has been found the welfare of its members and in the process if any income is received from a person other than the members it would not change the status of the assessee - AT Visit to Get Source Cash Purchases from Arhatiyas Exceeding Rs 20,000 Disallowed u/s 40A(3); Not Agents u/r 6DD(k. Case-Laws - AT : Addition u/s 40A(3) - cash purchases above Rs 20,000 - assessee made final purchases from the Arhatiyas (commission agents / traders) and same cannot be treated as agents of the assessee firm within the meaning of Rule 6DD(k). - AT Visit to Get Source Court Considers Best Judgment Assessment After Rejection of Accounts and Trading Addition Due to Lower G.P. Rate. Case-Laws - AT : Best judgement assessment - rejection of books of accounts - trading addition made on ground of decrease in G.P. rate - Explanation of the assessee can not be rejected in totto. - AT Visit to Get Source Section 80IC Deduction: Allowed for Custom-Specified Manufactured Items with Assembled Components, Including Paints. Case-Laws - AT : Deduction u/s 80IC - items were being manufactured at the specification of the customers and certain bought items were put together for supply the complete unit, i.e. certain paints - deduction allowed. - AT Visit to Get Source Section 54EC Tax Exemption: Fund Tracing Not Required for Asset Purchase Deduction Under Income Tax Act. Case-Laws - AT : Exemption u/s 54EC - once money is deposited in the bank account it gets merged with other funds of the assessee and it is impossible to locate which funds have been used for purchase of specified assets because the normal businessman would keep on doing various transactions in the bank account. Deduction allowed - AT Visit to Get Source Interest on Borrowings for Land Acquisition Non-Deductible Due to Capital Nature Classification. Case-Laws - AT : Since the acquisition of land is of capital nature and therefore, interest paid for borrowings for the purpose of purchasing of such land is not allowable. - AT Visit to Get Source Dispute on Fair Market Value for Long-Term Capital Gains Settled; Expenses for Cost of Improvement Unsubstantiated. Case-Laws - AT : Long term capital gain - dispute regarding computation of fair market value(fmv)as on 01.04.1981 - Valuation as per registered valuation accepted - however with regard to cost of improvement, assessee has miserably failed, to prove the factum of incurring of the expenses - AT Visit to Get Source India-UAE Tax Agreement Under Fire: DRP's Handling Sparks Concerns Over Taxpayer Harassment and Prolonged Litigation. Case-Laws - AT : DTAA between India & UAE – casual attitude of the DRP leads to harassment of the assessee and drag them to protracted litigation - AT Visit to Get Source Customs Amendment to Notification 94/1996-Customs: Updates on Exemption Criteria for Re-Imported Goods under Export Promotion Schemes. Notifications : Seeks to amend notification No. 94/1996-Customs - Exemption to re-imported goods exported under various Export Promotion Schemes. - Notification Visit to Get Source Amendment to Notification No.12/2012-Cus Proposes Concessional Duty on Gold Findings; Expands Serial No. 282 Item List. Notifications : Seeks to amend notification No.12/2012-Cus,dated 17.03.2012 to provide concessional rate of duty on Gold Findings and to extend the list of items under Sr. No.282. - Notification Visit to Get Source India Extends Anti-Dumping Duty on Chinese Ductile Iron Pipes Until September 2013 Under Notification No. 103/2007-Customs. Notifications : Seeks to amend notification No. 103/2007-Customs, dated 14th September,2007 so as to continue, up to and inclusive of 12th September, 2013, the anti-dumping duty on imports of Ductile Iron Pipes , originating in, or exported from, China PR. - Notification Visit to Get Source Assistant Commissioner Sentenced to 3 Months for Contempt Over Illegible Search, Defying Court Orders in Customs Case. Case-Laws - HC : Petition for contempt - illegible search despite court orders - Assistant commissioner found guilty of contempt - punish him with simple imprisonment of three months - HC Visit to Get Source Conversion of Shipping Bill from DEPB to Duty Drawback Scheme Requires Commissioner of Customs Approval, Not Assistant Commissioner. Case-Laws - HC : Drawback claim - conversion of shipping bill from DEPB scheme to Duty Drawback Scheme - powers are vested with the Commissioner of Customs and not with the Assistant Commissioner - HC Visit to Get Source Assessee Exempt from Rent or Demurrage Charges for Goods Seized by Officer. Case-Laws - AT : If the goods are seized or detained by the proper officer, the assessee shall not be charged with any rent or demurrage on the goods - AT Visit to Get Source Non-filing of Bill of Entry within 30 Days Not a Contravention u/s 117, Customs Act 1962. Case-Laws - AT : Section 48 is not a contravention of the nature prescribed under Section 117 of the Customs Act, 1962 for non-filing of bill of entry within 30 days under Section 48 of the Act - AT Visit to Get Source Individuals Seeking Fine Refunds Must Prove Their Case; No Presumption of Financial Burden Transfer Exists. Case-Laws - AT : Refund - burden of proof – Where a person claims refund of fine or penalty, there can be no presumption that he has passed on this incidence to any other person - AT Visit to Get Source FEMA FEMA Circular Simplifies Overseas Direct Investments for Indian Entities, Streamlining Compliance and Boosting Ease of Doing Business Abroad. Circulars : Overseas Direct Investments by Indian Party – Rationalisation - Circular Visit to Get Source Corporate Law Sections 17, 18, 19, 141, 188 of Companies Act, 1956 delegate powers to Regional Directors for streamlined company management. Notifications : Delegation of Powers to Regional Directors u/s 17,18,19,141 and 188 of the Companies Act,1956. - Notification Visit to Get Source Supreme Court allows appeal: Order 2 Rule 2 CPC may impact winding-up proceedings under Companies Act Sections 433, 434, 439. Case-Laws - SC : Winding-up petition on arrears of rent - Whether the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) would have any impact on a proceeding u/s 433, 434 and 439 of the Companies Act, 1956 - appeal allowed in part - SC Visit to Get Source Indian Laws Supreme Court Addresses SEBI's Confidentiality Breach and Media Reporting Guidelines on Sub Judice Matters. Case-Laws - SC : Disclosure to the Media was by SEBI in breach of confidentiality - Directions with regard to reporting of matters (in electronic and print media) which are sub judice - guidelines on reporting cannot be framed across the Board. - SC Visit to Get Source Service Tax Court Rules Furniture Making and Related Activities Not Classified as Interior Decorators for Service Tax Purposes. Case-Laws - AT : Interior Decorators versus Works contract - making wooden furniture as per design and drawing - civil work, painting work, plumbing work and electrical work - held as not an activity in the nature of Interior Decorators - AT Visit to Get Source Appellant's Non-Registration Under Finance Act Deemed Reasonable; No Section 76 Penalty Imposed Due to Section 80 Leniency. Case-Laws - AT : Non registration - as the cause explained by the Appellant not to follow the provisions of the Finance Act, 1994 is reasonable no penalty u/s 76 is levied in view of the provisions of Section 80 - AT Visit to Get Source Extended Service Tax Assessment Period Not Applicable to Agent Due to Bona Fide Doubt from 1997 to 1999 Activities. Case-Laws - HC : Clearing and forwarding agent - 16-7-1997 to 31-8-1999 - case of the assessee comes within the definition of bona fide doubt and in that event, the extended period is not applicable - HC Visit to Get Source CBEC: No Proceedings for Assessees Who Paid Full Service Tax and Interest; Penalties Waived u/ss 76 and 77. Case-Laws - AT : Penalties under Sections 76 and 77 - CBEC has directed not to commence proceedings where the assessee discharges full amount of service tax and interest - penalty waived - AT Visit to Get Source Central Excise Amendments to Serial Numbers 70 and 71 of Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise Impact Excise Duty Calculations. Notifications : Amends Sl. No. 70 and 71 of Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise. - Notification Visit to Get Source Export Units Can Claim SAD Exemption for DTA Goods; Eligibility Tied to State Sales Tax Status. Case-Laws - AT : EOU Unit can claim exemption from payment of SAD if the goods are cleared into DTA are not exempted by the State Government from the payment of Sales Tax - AT Visit to Get Source Rebate Claim Denied Due to Non-Compliance with Input/Output Norms and Incomplete Application Details. Case-Laws - AT : Denial of rebate claim - non-adherence input/output norms - claim application was also found to be blank in some respect - no rebate / refund - AT Visit to Get Source High Court Rules CBEC Clarifications on Excise Duties u/s 37B Are Discretionary, Not Demandable by Petitioners. Case-Laws - HC : Power of CBEC to issue clarification u/s 37B on demand with respect to levy of duties of excise on such goods - petitioner has no such right to demand a clarification - HC Visit to Get Source Authority Ordered to Approve Drawback Claims on Exports Due to Missing Samples for Retesting. Case-Laws - CGOVT : Export of goods – Drawback claim – in the absence of retest of remnant samples as the remnant samples were not available - original authority directed to sanction the drawback claims- CGOVT Visit to Get Source Potato Wafers Classified as Namkeens: Exempt from Central Excise Duty Under Notification No. 4/97-C.E. Case-Laws - AT : Classification - manufacture of Potato wafers – the goods, in question, are snacks (Namkeens), the same are covered by Notification No. 4/97-C.E. - exemption allowed - AT Visit to Get Source Cenvat Credit Rule 6(1) Denies Credit for Fuel Used in Producing Exempted Goods; Applies Only to Taxable Goods Production. Case-Laws - AT : Cenvat Credit - Rule 6(1) shall apply in respect of goods used as fuel and on such application, the credit will not be permissible on such quantity of fuel which is used in the manufacture of exempted goods. - AT Visit to Get Source Rebate Claim Rejection Overturned: Merchant Exporter's Name Missing on CT-I Certificate Not Grounds for Denial. Case-Laws - CGOVT : Rebate claim – rejection of claim for non-endorsement of the name of the merchant exporter in the CT-I Certificate - substantive benefit cannot be denied for procedural lapses - CGOVT Visit to Get Source Government Must Refund Duty Paid on Exempted Goods, Rules Court; Re-credit Allowed for EHTP Unit's Claim. Case-Laws - CGOVT : Refund / Rebate claim – EHTP unit - payment of duty on exempted goods – Government cannot retain the amount collected without authority. - Re-credit allowed - CGOVT Visit to Get Source Case Laws: Income Tax 2012 (9) TMI 373 Non entitlement to deduction of the provision made in respect of irrecoverable Non Performing Assets - Held that:- Decided in favour of Revenue as decided in M/s Southern Technologies Ltd. versus Joint Commnr. of Income Tax, Coimbatore [2010 (1) TMI 5 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] Provision for possible loss are only notional for purposes of disclosure, hence, they cannot be made an excuse for claiming deduction under the IT Act, hence, add back - against assessee. Contingent deposits from the leasing/hire purchase customers with a view to protect themselves from sales tax liability. - ITAT treated it as assessee s income - Held that:- It is now well settled that in determining whether a receipt is liable to be taxed, the taxing authorities cannot ignore the legal character of the transaction which is the source of the receipt - As in the present case, the assessee received Rs. 36,47,585/- in the assessment year 1998-99 and as per his own statement in Court the said sum was not kept in a separate interest bearing bank account but it formed part of the business turnover. - In view of the said statement no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment constituting the addition to the income. - The said amount was part of the turnover. The said amount was collected from the customers. The said amount was collected towards sales tax liability - against assessee. Decision in the case of Bazpur Co-operative Sugar Factory Ltd. (1988 (5) TMI 4 - SUPREME COURT) distinguished. 2012 (9) TMI 372 Business income or Income from other sources - Interest income on Foreign Currency Deposit Account - whether assessee is entitled to get the benefit of Section 10A? - Held that:- As similar question arose in CIT Versus Menon Impex P. Ltd. [2002 (9) TMI 75 - MADRAS HIGH COURT] wherein the deduction u/s 10A was allowed. In the case of Commissioner of Income Tax vs. Sterling Foods [1999 (4) TMI 1 - SUPREME COURT] it was held that the mere fact that the deposit was made for obtaining Letter of Credit which Letter was, in turn, used for the purpose of business undertaking did not establish a direct nexus between the interest and industrial undertaking. Remit the cases to the ITAT for deciding the matter afresh after examining the transaction in question as done by the Madras High Court in the case of Menon Impex Private Limited. 2012 (9) TMI 371 Denial of deduction u/s 80HH and 80I for Petrochemical Unit - the basis of allocation of profits amongst the three units as shown in the Computation of Income was not explained - Held that:- Though neither Section 80HH nor Section 80I statutorily obliged assessee company to maintain its accounts unit-wise and that it was open for it to maintain its accounts in a consolidated form in order to put an end to the litigation between the Tax Department and the PSU the case is remitted to the AO to ascertain whether the assessee had correctly calculated its net profits for assessment year 1992-93 in respect of its petrochemical unit for the purposes of claiming deduction under Sections 80HH and 80I. As in the present case, assessee company has prepared its Financial Statements on Consolidated Basis from which it has worked out unit-wise net profits and once such working is certified by the Auditors the net profit computation (unit-wise) could be placed before the AO who can find out whether such profit(s) is properly worked out and on that basis compute deduction under Section 80HH/80 - in favour of assessee by way of remand. 2012 (9) TMI 370 Disallowance of depreciation - cost of acquisition of capital asset has been claimed as application of income for charitable purposes in the year of acquisition - CIT allowed the claim - Held that:- As the assessee is registered u/s 12A it did not claim benefit of provisions of sec. 11 & 12 in view of insertion of first proviso to section 2(15) as introduced by the Finance Act, 2009 w.e.f 01.04.2009 - The CIT(A) did not analyse the issues in proper perspective and merely followed decisions rendered prior to insertion of the aforesaid first proviso to sec. 2(15) despite the undisputed fact that the assessee itself did not claim benefit of provisions of sec. 11 & 12 in the computation of income annexed with return, filed report of audit in form 3CD in terms of provisions of sec. 44AB and declared suo motu income under the head ‘Profits and Gains of the Business or Profession’. Section 250(6) mandates that the order of the CIT(A) while disposing of the appeal shall be in writing and shall state the points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision - set aside the order of the ld. CIT(A) and restore the matter to his file for deciding the aforesaid issues, afresh in accordance with law - in favour of revenue. 2012 (9) TMI 369 Charitable purpose u/s 2(15) - Cancellation of Registration u/s 12AA(1)(b)(iii) - the object pertaining to the maintenance of the park has been struck down by the Charity Commissioner - Held that:- On going through the remaining object of the trust, read with the provisions of sections 2(15), 12A, 12AA it is found that there has been compliance to section 12A as required under the provisions, so far as provisions of section 2(15) are concerned that the amendment talks about preservation of environment. In the place like Mumbai, where we are encountered only with tall buildings and sky scrapers, a park is maintained and developed which not only gives fresh air but invites the people at large to come, enjoy and spend time in the company of fresh grass, flowers, and gives a breath of fresh air, would certainly fall within the words, "preservation of environment", because if the assessee trust had not come forward to maintain it, it may have been used by other nefarious and unhealthy elements, which would otherwise, make the environment unhealthy. No doubt, the specific clauses have been struck out by the Charity Commissioner, under the Trust Act, but still the object would fall in the ambit of clause (8) mentioning about the benefit of the locality residents and the environment - assessee trust must be granted the registration u/s 12AA - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 368 Disallowance of commission expenses - CIT(A) allowed it - Held that:- Considering the written submissions of the assessee before the CIT(A) wherein the assessee submitted the particulars of parties, details of payment and TDS certificates related to the payment of commission on sales in question AO made disallowance on commission payment of sales on the basis of a superficial approach supported by surmises and conjectures without making any due inquiry in regard to the genuineness of the parties and services rendered by the recipients of commission to the assessee in lieu of commission. As AO did not consider all material and the evidence placed before him by the assessee nad the CIT(A) followed a due procedure and admitted the additional evidence following Rule 46A of the Rules and after affording due opportunity to the AO to confront the same allowed the claim - as CIT(A) rightly followed the rule of consistency which was earlier followed by the AO in the preceding years of assessment allowing the payment of commission by the assessee on sales and in the absence of any material to substantiate that the payment of commission as claimed by the assessee are bogus, the disallowance cannot be made and sustained - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 367 Royalty expenditure - Capital OR Revenue - assessee purchased distribution rights of the Punjabi film ‘Jee Aayan Nu’ for three years - AO stated to treat the expenditure as capital and deducted depreciation @25% thereon - Held that:- On observing a detailed chart of income and expenses from film “Jee Aayan Nu” it reveals that the assessee paid Rs.34,34,406 for film development and Rs.75,00,000/- as expenditure for payment of royalty and both these expenses have been segregated in four years. As per Auditors’ Report and final accounts of the assessee the assessee claimed Rs.20,60,706 as film developing charges and Rs.45,00,000 as royalty expenses i.e. 60% of actual expenditure in the assessment year under consideration and remaining 40% expenditure left to be claimed in another three years to come (subsequent to the first year of actual payment expenditure). As AO did not dispute the fact that 60% of the film development expenses was allowed in the year of expenditure and the rest 40% to be treated as deferred revenue expenditure in the forthcoming years but he deviated from this stand while considering the royalty expenditure allowability and held that the same expenditure was capital in nature. As the AO has ignored the Board Circular No. 92 dated 18.9.1972 pertaining to writing off royalty/distribution expenses of films which is binding on tax authorities thus the action of the AO was based on surmises and conjectures, without considering the nature of business of the assessee which was supported by hyper approach ignoring the Board Circular - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 366 TDS on commission/fee paid to Consortium Members - Disallowance under Section 40{a)(ia) - Held that:- In this case the assessee entered into a consortium agreement with 12 other members who are travel agents for booking air tickets through the platform provided by M/s Amadeus Pvt. Ltd. - As is evident from the terms and conditions of the consortium agreement, the payment by the assessee to other consortium members is not voluntary .The assessee is under a legal obligation in terms of the agreement to pay the amount to other consortium members in accordance with settled terms. There is nothing to suggest that the assessee rendered any service to Amadeus. It is the settled legal position that income accrues when an enforceable debt is created in favour of an assessee. The terms of the consortium agreement do not reveal any such right in favour of the assessee, thus income of 52,22,326/-rightfully belonged to the other consortium members, to whom the amount was distributed by the assessee - Since the assessee only distributed the income in terms of the agreement and this did not amount to incurring of an expenditure no infirmity in the findings of the CIT(A) in deleting the disallowance u/s 40a(ia). As the notices issued by the ld. CIT(A) were never served upon it and the issues raised in ground nos. 2 & 5 in this appeal having not been adjudicated by him, it is fair and appropriate to vacate the findings of the CIT(A) and restore the matter to his file with the directions to readjudicate the issues in the light of aforesaid decision of the ITAT on identical facts in the AY 2006-07 after allowing sufficient opportunity to both the parties 2012 (9) TMI 365 Interest on refund of income tax received by the PE of the assessee - taxability - applicability of Article 12(5) or Article 12(2) of DTAA between India and France - Held that:- Tribunal in the case of the assessee itself for the AY 2002-03 and 2003-04 after detailed deliberation has held that interest on income tax refund is liable to tax @ 10% as per Article 12(2) of DTAA between India and France. It has been observed that assessee is not in the business of obtaining interest income tax refund therefore, the interest is neither derived from nor attributable to the business activity of the assessee. It is merely fall out of the profits earned by the assessee and is an appropriation of profit and when excess amount then what is due under the Act is appropriated, assessee get refund thereto, and when there is a delay in granting such refund, assessee is granted interest thereon which is taxable under the head “income from other sources”. Therefore, interest earned by the assessee cannot be held to be related to activity of PE. Thus cannot be related to Article 12(5) of the DTAA - Decided against Revenue 2012 (9) TMI 364 Disallowance u/s 14A r.w.r. 8D - assessee contested that no interest cost had been incurred by the assessee on any borrowings for the purpose of investment nor any interest was debited to P&L account - Held that:- There is no dispute that part of the income of the assessee from its business is from dividend which is exempt from tax whereas the assessee was unable to produce any material before the authorities below showing the source from which such shares were acquired the mere fact that those shares were old ones and not acquired recently is immaterial. It is for the assessee to show the source of acquisition of those shares by production of materials that those were acquired from the funds available in the hands of the assessee at the relevant point of time without taking benefit of any loan. Even where the assessee claims that no expenditure has been incurred in relation to income which does not form part of total income, the AO is required to verify the correctness of such claim but in the instant case the AO was handicapped, because of failure of the assessee to furnish relevant details/particulars and accounts while making the disallowance in terms of provisions of sec. 14A . There is nothing in the assessment order or impugned order as to whether the assessee placed the relevant details & accounts before the AO or the ld. CIT(A) nor these authorities seems to have undertook any exercise to ascertain the details of expenditure incurred in managing and supervising the aforesaid huge investments in various funds & securities, objectively - set aside the order of the CIT(A) and restore the matter to the file of the AO for deciding the issue afresh. 2012 (9) TMI 363 Validity of assumption of jurisdiction by Commissioner u/s 263 – reassessment purported on ground that discount allowed cannot be claimed u/s.36(1)(vii) - A.O. should have made further inquiries - AO dis-allowed Rs 61,12,431 out of total discount claimed of Rs 81,49,937 – assessment order read as under “Dis-allowance of discount allowed as discussed” - assessee contended examination of issue in detail by AO – Held that:- It was the case of the CIT to further verify the order of the AO when he has already noted that the claim was the loss of the Revenue and shall not be allowed. No merit is found in contention of the Revenue insofar as the facts leading to claim of bad debt and allowance of discount were closely linked as observed by the AO cannot leave any room for doubt as sought to be assumed by CIT u/s.263 insofar as he has not given any direction to the AO which would lead to the finding that the order of the AO was erroneous coupled with the fact that it was prejudicial to the interest of revenue. Further, Commissioner while setting aside assessment u/s.263 should not give specific direction to the Assessing Officer to complete assessment in a particular manner. See Development Construction & Allied Services (India) P. Ltd v. ITO (2011 (3) TMI 850 - ITAT, MUMBAI ). Assessment u/s 263 is quashed – Decided in favor of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 362 Penalty u/s 271(1)(c) – addition on account of unexplained investment and dis-allowance of agricultural income – assessee contended that statement of agricultural income disclosed by the appellant was on estimate basis and the AO has disallowed certain amount of agricultural income on estimate basis - as returned income and assessed income both being on estimate basis, penalty u/s 271(1)(c) is not attracted - Held that:- Estimation cannot result in levy of penalty straight way in a mechanical manner. The assessee had neither concealed any income nor furnished any inaccurate particulars. It was a denial of the assessing authorities which was adjudicated upon by the Tribunal, which assessee has submitted as mentioned above. In the light of the same, penalty levied u/s. 271(1)(c) on the part estimation sustained by the Tribunal is cancelled – Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 361 Rectification u/s 154 - dis-allowance of adjustment of brought forward loss of AY 1998-99 against profit for the AY 2007-08 on the ground that eight AYs have been passed - original assessment order passed u/s 143(3) allowed b/f business loss for AY 1998-99 to be c/f and same was also allowed to be carried forward in appeal effect order dated 11.06.2010 u/s 251/143(3) - Held that:- Admittedly, this is a mistake apparent from record as this business loss determined in AY 1998-99 can be carried forward till 2006-07 and not in the relevant AY 2007-08. On limitation period of four years for rectification u/s 154 it is observed that original assessment was framed u/s 143(3) for the AY 2007-08 on 31.12.2009 and the appeal effect order was passed u/s 251/143(3) on 11.06.2010, hence within time limit. In view of aforesaid, it is held that AO has rightly rectified the mistake, which is apparent from the records that this loss cannot be carried forward in AY 2007-08 - Decided against assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 360 Long Term capital gain - exemption u/s 54F - dis-allowance on ground that investment made by assessee in purchase of a residential house may not be fit for habitation, because the house was too small to exists on half acre of land - Held that:- This is hardly the basis on which one can conclude that the assessee did not purchase a residential house. Evidence filed by the assessee viz description of property in sale deed, payment of house tax, electricity connection, sufficiently justifies the existence of a house. The claim of the assessee is that it was habitable and there is no material on record to disbelieve the claim of the assessee. At this point of time, it is not possible to verify the condition of the building and or to whether it was habitable at the time of its purchase. In the circumstances, the benefit of doubt should go in favour of the assessee. On the material available on record, we are satisfied that the assessee has fulfilled the conditions for grant of exemption u/s 54F. We therefore, direct that the exemption claimed be allowed - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 359 Capital gains - sale of flat - adoption of lower indexed cost of acquisition, non-allowance of registration expenses and cost of improvement - indexed cost of acquisition taken at Rs 3,77,700/- against indexed cost of acquisition, registration and improvement taken by assessee at Rs 19,91,784/- Held that:- It is observed that cost of acquisition was taken from registered sale deed executed on 04.06.2002 by the Vijaya Bank Employees Housing Cooperative Society in favour of the assessee wherein only a sum of Rs.3,06,410/- was mentioned. However no cognizance taken of confirmation letter issued by Society itself to assessee certifying payment of sum of Rs.7,75,305/- during the period from 30.04.1996 to 01.06.2000 by way of installment and also certificate from Engineer contractors certifying improvement cost of 3,10,000/- and other related expenses Even going by common sense it is clear that no flat in BTM Layout in 2002 was available at the rate of Rs.300/- adopted by AO. In view of adoption of aforesaid cost, CIT(A) rightly held that indexed cost of acquisition, improvement and registration far exceeds Rs.19.80 lakhs resulting in taxable LTCG at NIL - Decided against Revenue 2012 (9) TMI 358 Dis-allowance of interest expenses on account of interest free advances given to subsidiary company and advances given to sister concerns at concessional interest rates - Held that:- It is clear that the loan to the sister concern at concessional rate of interest as well as the investment in the subsidiary had not taken place during the previous year. As rightly contended by assessee, the revenue has accepted the fact that same were either out of own funds or were owing to commercial expediency. Even otherwise, we find that the investment in the subsidiary was only in the nature of an advance for the purchase of shares. Shares however had not been actually allotted. In such circumstances, it cannot be said that the interest free loans are investments in the subsidiary for the purpose of earning income which will not form part of total income under the Act so as to justify invoking section 14A. Since, there was commercial expediency in giving the advance by the assessee to its subsidiary, dis-allowance cannot be even sustained u/s 36(1)(iii). As far as loans to the sister concern at concessional rate of interest is concerned, we are of the view that it would be just and appropriate to direct the Assessing Officer to examine the availability of overall funds – Decided in favor of assessee for statistical purposes. 2012 (9) TMI 357 Validity of revisionary order u/s 263 – banking company – alleged incorrect computation of book profits on account of non-consideration of Provision for NPA, Provision for Standard Advances and Bad investments written off – Held that:- Order sought to be revised is the order dt.18.3.2010 giving effect to the order of the CIT(A) dt. 13.1.2010. Scope of such proceedings is restricted to the issue/matters that was considered and decided by the CIT(A). Issues with regard to adding Provision for NPA, Provision for Standard Advances and Bad investments written off while computing book profits u/s.115JB were neither the subject matter of AO’s order u/s.143(3) nor the subject matter of the appeal before the CIT(A) or considered in the order of the CIT(A). In such a situation where the AO is precluded from considering the above issues, the CIT in exercise of his powers u/s.263 cannot compel the AO to consider the above aspects. He cannot term the order of the AO as erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue for failure to consider the above issues. The order of the AO dt.18.3.2010 cannot therefore, said to be erroneous for not considering the above issues. On this short ground the order u/s.263 in so far as it relates to the issues with regard to adding Provision for NPA, Provision for Standard Advances and Bad investments written off while computing book profits u/s.115JB, is liable to quashed and is hereby quashed - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 356 Validity of revisionary order passed u/s 263 - under-assessment of capital gain - non-applicability of Section 50C by AO - Held that:- In instant case, AO has not examined the applicability of section 50C. Nothing has been brought on record to show that any such enquiry had been made by the AO in the course of assessment proceedings. In view of the specific provisions of section 50C, the AO ought to have examined this aspect and failure to do so renders the order of assessment erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of revenue. Therefore, CIT was justified in initiating proceedings u/s. 263 With regard to the merits of the order, it is found that provisions of section 50C(2) provide for a reference to the DVO, if the assessee makes a claim that the guidelines value for the purpose of stamp duty exceeds the fair market value of the property as on the date of transfer. Since the AO has not made any enquiries with regard to the application of section 50C, the assessee had no occasion to exercise his right u/s. 50C. Hence, AO is directed to make a reference to the DVO u/s 50C and thereafter compute the capital gain on transfer of capital asset. Thus, the order u/s. 263 is modified as stated above - Decided partly in favor of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 355 Capital gains - dispute regarding value of cost of construction - assessee contended that why the cost of construction of the flats while computing short term capital gain is adopted at Rs.900/- when cost of construction was accepted at Rs.1,300/- while determining long term capital gain by the CIT (Appeals) - Held that:- It is found that long term capital gain for the very same flats have been accepted by the CIT (Appeals) to have a cost of construction at Rs.1,300/-. There cannot be apparently any valid reason to adopt cost of construction at Rs.900/- while computing short term capital gain. We, therefore, hold the cost of construction be adopted at Rs.1,300/- while determining short term capital gain. Accordingly, appeal of the assessee is partly allowed. 2012 (9) TMI 354 Estimation of the net profit from sale of liquor at 3% as directed by CIT(A) - DR contended that even in case of exclusive wines, the ITAT recently has directed for estimation of profit at 5% - non-verifiable nature of sales admitted in the return due to non production of sale bills - Held that:- As the entire understatement of sales cannot be treated as undisclosed income of the assessee for the year under consideration it is well settled law that the best guide for estimation of income after rejecting the books of accounts is either past history of the assessee or any other comparable cases - In the present case, admittedly the assessee is not an exclusive wine shop and it also runs restaurant along with Bar and food items are sold along with liquor. Therefore, the profit in case of the assessee cannot be same as in the case of exclusive wine shop - Thus, considering the fact that the sale of food items are very less compared to sale of liquor and beer and also considering the fact that the ITAT has also in some cases directed for estimation of net profit in case of wine shops at 5% it is reasonable to direct the AO to estimate the profit at 10% of purchases or stock put to sale during the year subject to the assessed income is not less than the returned income - The CIT (A)’s order is modified to this extent - partly in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 353 Deletion of penalty u/s 271(1)(c) by CIT (A) - Held that:- As particular purchases made was recorded twice in the books of the assessee once when invoice was received in the month of March, 2000 and again when the goods were received in the month of April, 2000 with no mistake detected by the auditors either at the time of statutory audit or tax audit & when a mistake came to the notice during the block assessment proceedings, the assessee filed revised return voluntarily offering income to tax being accepted by AO while completing assessment u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147 on protective basis without making any other additions, thus no penalty can be imposed on concealment of income or furnishing inaccurate particulars of income. As the conduct of the assessee in coming out voluntarily and offering the amount of Rs.1.68 crores to tax, a liberal view has to be taken in the matter of imposition of penalty u/s 271(1)(c) - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 352 Best Judgement assessment - alleged suppression of gross profit - real estate - Punjab Urban Planning & Development Authority (PUDA) Rules prescribed wastage of land for the developer at 40.33% and developer is not entitled to sell that part - assessee following mercantile system of accounting debited provision of the expenditure on development in the trading account and correspondingly included the same in closing stock - claimed construction expenses and PUDA fees fully - deducted non-saleable area out of total land while accounting for closing stock - Revenue contending construction expenses and PUDA fees to be debited proportionately on the basis of area of land sold as divided by the total area of colony and deducting cost of non-saleable area of land on proportionate basis of land sold viz-viz total area of land Held that:- A.O. has ignored the rule of consistency when the assessee had been adopting mercantile system of accounting and development expenses have been accounted for on mercantile system basis and have been accepted by the Department in the preceding year. Though by debiting development expenses in the trading account and correspondingly by crediting amount to the closing stock does not affect the revenue. As per PUDA rules, a developer has to account for 40.33% as wastage is not under dispute. PUDA fees and construction charges have been incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of business. In the absence of any defects in the books of account, the AO is not justified in invoking the provisions of section 145(3) and therefore no addition is called in the facts and circumstances of the present case - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 351 Interest on government loan - Government company - dis-allowance on ground that the government order sanctioning the loan did not specify any terms and conditions with regard to payment of interest or penal interest - assessee has not paid even a single instalment of either the principal amount or the interest - no action initiated by the government to recover the amount - Held that:- In the absence of any action initiated by the government to recover the amount, claim of deduction of the accrued interest on such loan may not be justified. Even though the assessee was maintaining mercantile system of accounting when the assessee defaulted in payment of the principal amount continuously for long time no interest would accrue on such loan even on principles of mercantile system of accounting. Dis-allowance upheld Addition of prior period income - Held that:- Admittedly, the assessee is maintaining books of account on mercantile system. Therefore, the income relatable to earlier year cannot be added to the income of this year. Addition is deleted. Addition of interest on government loan outstanding as on 31-03-2004 - Held that:- The loan was outstanding from the year 1996. The interest accrued was already converted into share capital. When a portion of the principal alongwith the interest and penal interest was converted into share capital there is no question of any further charging of interest. Therefore, the CIT (A) has rightly confirmed the addition 2012 (9) TMI 350 Writ Petition – alleged that financial statement of the petitioner- company were allegedly fudged. Allegedly sales and interest income for several years have been overstated, fictitious deposits allegedly were shown in the balance-sheet – Held that:- It was the case of the company before the Central Board of Direct Taxes that the Department had acted on the basis of false claims of payment of taxes made by the previous management by rectifying the assessment and raising tax demands - no hearing was given to the petitioner-company - Central Board of Direct Taxes, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, ought to have heard the petitioner-company, which they have not done - representations made by the petitioner require further details to be furnished - special leave petition accordingly, disposed of. 2012 (9) TMI 335 Disallowance of service charges - services agreement between the assessee and its holding company - allegation of clear intention of reducing the tax liability of the assessee and increasing the non-taxable profits - Held that:- CIT (A) has identified some of the expenditure on electricity, rent advertisements etc which is selective and not appropriate according to the facts. - considering the extent of expenditure in both the cases and the fact that in both the companies are reporting the above amount as service charges recovered/paid from/to each other, no reason to doubt that assessee has not incurred the expenditure and the other company has not provided any services - also levy of service tax exists in each month's bill at 12.5% as if only tax avoidance is main issue in allocation of expenditure to assessee, there is no need for allocating the expenditure to assessee paying service tax at 12.5% directly on the gross amount - direction to AO to allow the expenditure - in favour of assessee. Disallowance of deputation charges - common services in the areas of Finance, Accounts, Taxation, Legal, Administration, HRD, education, Training, Research etc. - Held that:- the expenses on account of deputation charges as well as other expenses are not covered under the aforesaid agreement. The other reasons given by the AO for making the impugned disallowance cannot also be sustained - in favour of assessee. Non deduction of TDS while making payment towards purchase of software - Disallowance u/s 40(a)(ia) - the payment in question is in the nature of Royalty as per AO - Held that:- Following the view expressed by the Hon'ble Dellhi High Court in the case of DIT v. Ericsson AB (2011 (12) TMI 91 - DELHI HIGH COURT) that consideration paid merely for right to use cannot be held to be royalty which is favourable to the Assessee to hold that the consideration received by the Assessee for software was not royalty. Admittedly the Assessee who is a non resident does not have a permanent establishment and therefore business income of the Assessee cannot be taxed in India in the absence of a permanent establishment - as the assessee was asked to explain whether the facts involved in assessee's own case (payments to non residents) wherein payments made to non-residents has held that the amounts are royalty in nature are similar to the payments made to the Indian Companies where the assessee expressed inability to furnish the details immediately and has no objection if the matter is examined by AO direction to AO to examine the issue afresh in the light of facts before the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka and the facts involved in payments made to Indian Companies and decide the issue fresh after giving due opportunity to assessee. Disallowance of an amount u/s 14A while computing the book profits under section 115JB - Held that:- Once AO has made the disallowance on account of interest expenditure, it was for assessee to produce evidence that the investments were made out of free surplus funds of assessee and that no part of the interest bearing funds had been used for the purposes of making the investments. As the assessee failed to prove the disallowance of the proportionate interest expenditure has to be necessarily made by the mandatory method prescribed in Rule 8D - No reason to interfere with the orders of the authorities for disallowing proportionate expenditure under section 14A and consequent to the above disallowance, the same is also to be disallowed under section 115JB working as well - against assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 334 Interest u/s 234A/234B - Whether the interest levy is mandatory ? - Held that:- As decided in CIT Versus Anjum M. H. Ghaswala And Others [2001 (10) TMI 4 - SUPREME COURT] the Board has issued circulars by Notification No. F. No.400/234/95-IT(B), dated May 23, 1996 as per which it has empowered that the Chief Commissioner of Income-tax and Director-General of Income-tax may waive or reduce interest charged under sections 234A, 234B and 234C beneficial to assessees, such benefit can be conferred on assessees who have approached the Settlement Commission under Section 245C on such terms and conditions as contained in the circular. As this aspect has not been considered in the present case by the High Court in its impugned order it need to be set aside directing the Tribunal to consider whether the assessee would be entitled to waiver of interest under the Circular - in favour of assessee by way of remand. 2012 (9) TMI 333 Reopening of assessment - claim for depreciation at the higher rate at 40% - Held that:- In the scrutiny assessment, AO with respect to depreciation claimed has raised a specific query and called upon the petitioner to justify the claim by giving details of vehicles on which depreciation at the rate of 40% was claimed. In reply to such question, the assessee made a detailed representation stating that company had purchased and leased commercial vehicles during financial years between 1.4.1994 to 31.3.1995 and 1.4.1995 to 31.3.1996. Details of such purchases were provided. It was also pointed out that the company was claiming depreciation at the rate of 40% on the commercial vehicle. It was stated that on certain vehicles, the company had claimed depreciation at the rate of 20% having reference to the vehicles purchased by the company during the second half of the year and therefore, half of otherwise available depreciation could be claimed. As the assessee company had placed full facts before the AO in the original assessment itself and also during the course of scrutiny assessment detailed submissions were given as despite commercial vehicles have been leased out, higher rate of depreciation was justified. This is therefore, not a case where income chargeable to tax can be stated to have escaped assessment for the reason of assessee failing to disclose truly and fully all material facts - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 332 Disallowance of expenditure in connection with VRS - Held that:- this question of fact viz. whether the payments had been made under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme had been raised unnecessarily by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). The Assessing Officer had not disallowed the same on this ground. - even assuming that the appellant is entitled to raise this issue in appeal, it would not raise a substantial question of law. MAT - book adjustment - ITAT hold that the extraordinary items in the form of Rs.30 crores representing profit on transfer of land for development and Rs. 73 crores representing reversal of provisions for construction cost credited by the assessee in its accounts should be excluded from the net profit as per books which is computed as per Part II and Part III of Schedule VI to Companies Act on the ground that no income can be included in the “book profit” under section 115JA based on mere book entries? - Decision of ITAT sustained. VRS payment of Rs.27.92 crores, made to workers for closure of factory - It is pertinent to note that before the Tribunal, the appellant had not contended that the decision of this Court in the matter of Commissioner of Income-Tax Versus Bhor Industries Ltd.( 2003 (2) TMI 20 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT) is inapplicable to the present facts in fact, in it's appeal to the Tribunal the appellant-Revenue had urged that Bhor Industries is inapplicable only because the decision has not been accepted by the Department. Therefore, it is not open to urge a new ground or facts in third appeal. 2012 (9) TMI 331 Assessment of business income - whether the assessee should be held to be an “agent” of the State or an “arm” of the State and exempt from assessment of income in his hands - Held that:- The entire case of the assessee in the instant case, hinges on clause (2) or clause (3) of Article 289 of the Constitution of India - The basic purport of Article 289(2) is to neutralize clause (1)which says “The property and income of a State shall be exempt from Union Taxation”, but with a rider that, if there is any “trade or business” done on behalf of the Government or any operations connected therewith or any property issued or occupied for the purposes of such trade or business, or any income accruing or arising in connection therewith. To make this clause effective, even for Government / State, conduct of “trade or business” is necessary, which simply means involvement of commercial and profit motive for the vendor. The observation above read together with section 113(3A) of MR&TP Act, 1966, shall emerge that the activity so performed by the assessee is nothing but an act of State without any profit or commercial motive attached with it. The only clause left for our consideration then would be clause (3), which shall come into play once clause (2) is disbanded which operates only if “Parliament may by Law declare to be incidental to the ordinary functions of Government”. Here, in the instant case, we have to read “Parliament” as “State Government” because in the instant case, it is the State Government which has authorized the assessee to perform the development projects at Navi Mumbai, Vasai- Virar, Waluj and such other places - as soon as the “Project” is complete, the project gets handed back to the State, i.e. when there is a development project, as per phases, and in the case of local authority, as and when the authorizing committee is satisfied, the reins are transferred to the municipal boards, from whom, the project was taken over, as we have seen from Resolution no. 10375 dated 06/08/2010. No agreement with the argument of the DR that there is no document which has drawn out the Agent-Principal relationship, because the very first Resolution dated 18th March, 1970 mention in para no. 2 that “…………… which would act as an “agent” of Government for the development of the areas with a view to secure the above objective”, and in para no. 3 of this Resolution clearly say, “The subsidiary company will work under the control and supervision of the State Government in the General Administrative Department”. Thus the first Resolution itself makes it clear that the assessee is to be an agent, but functions as an arm of the State Government, because, if the assessee can only work under the control and supervision of the State Government, meaning thereby that the assessee cannot make / take any decisions suo moto, then, in such a case authority for performance of all activities lie somewhere else. In any case, as per this Resolution, it clearly makes the assessee an “agent” of the State - looking into the financial functions of the assessee it is founded that all dealings have to be routed through authorizations by the Government and all funds receivable shall be in compliance and with intimations to State Industrial and Investment Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. Bombay - as the department has been assessing the assessee as a State Government undertaking for the last three years, therefore, even this cannot be called as an afterthought and applying the ‘rule of consistency’ the department cannot be allowed to take a distinctive approach in the current year - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 330 Unexplained investment - addition on account of peak credit available in the account - Held that:- As CIT(A) has rightly permitted the assessee to place on record bank statement, copies of the DDs and copy of the invoices exhibiting purchase of medicines by M/s. Shiva Distributors. However, from the record no conclusive evidence could be found showing that assessee is having a proprietaryship concern which is running a medical store in the name of Shiva Distributors. The only evidence produced by the assessee is that DDs were issued from his account to the suppliers of medicines coupled with the sales bills raised by those suppliers upon Shiva Distributors, thus these documents are insufficient to say that assessee was running Shiva Distributors. Thus looking to the nature of bank account that amounts have been deposited and withdrawn systematically which suggest that there is circulation of the money. As only credit sides are not to be considered as unexplained investment the benefit of set off representing the withdrawals has also to be granted to the assessee, in such situation, the learned first appellate authority has rightly held that peak credits in the bank account is to be assessed as income of the assessee - against assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 329 Invoking revision powers u/s 263 by CIT(A) - cancelling the assessment order passed u/s 147 r.w.s. 148 - investment in the house property - Held that:- As the revenue was in possession of information that the assessee had purchased various lands which were not reflected in the return and once the issue was reopened to investigate the purchase of various lands then the AO was duty bound to make enquiries to examine the purchase of these land as well as the sources for the same - as AO has simply issued notice u/s 142(1) and 143(2) which is standard for format of the notice and had never bothered to call for copies of various agreements of sale, the AO has proceed to make assessment u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147 merely on the basis of statement of affairs and made addition in respect of amounts stated in the statement of affairs which could not be proved. This clearly shows that the AO has not examined what was actual consideration for purchase of land and what were the sources. It is settled position of law that failure to make enquires which are required in the facts of the case would itself make the assessment order erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue. As in the notice the issued, Commissioner recorded that the AO had accepted an addition in house property at Rs. 7.02 lakhs without holding any enquiry and as from the report of CBI, ACB Gauhati that according to CBI investment made in the aforesaid house property was made by one Shri Moti Lal Datta son-in-law of the assessee and according to the CBI, the cost of acquisition of the house was Rs. 16,16,500/-. On these facts the Ld. Commissioner in the notice issued recorded his opinion that the assessment in question being without necessary enquiries was erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue. As the revisionary order has been passed in respect of assessment order passed u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147 on 31.12.2009 the power u/s 263 is available to CIT(A) to revise any order passed by the assessing authority and re-assessment order within from the end of Financial Year in which the order has been passed i.e. 31.3.2010 and would expire on 31.3.2012 whereas the order challenged here has been passed before 28.3.2012 i.e. well within time limit prescribed u/s 263(2). Therefore, the order is very much within the limitation period, thus order passed u/s 263 need to be uphold - against assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 328 Rental income from the property 'Income from house property' versus ‘Profits however where house property is given on lease or licence basis for earning income therefrom, the true character of the income derived is income from property. The said character is not changed and the income does not become income from trade or business if the hiring is inclusive of certain additional services such as heating, cleaning, lighting or sanitation, which are relatively insignificant and only incidental to the use. A mere glance at the impugned order for the year under consideration, reveals that the order passed by the CIT(A) is cryptic and grossly violative of one of the facets of the rules of natural justice, namely, that every judicial/quasi- judicial body/authority must pass reasoned order, which should reflect application of mind by the concerned authority to the issues/points raised before it. ‘Decision’ does not merely mean the ‘conclusion’. It embraces within its fold the reasons forming basis for the conclusion. In view of the foregoing, especially when the CIT(A) have not passed a speaking order, matter is restored to file of CIT(A) to bring out clearly as to whether or not the assessee derived income from exploitation of property as a commercial asset or as a owner – Decided in favor of assessee for statistical purposes 2012 (9) TMI 327 Principle of Mutuality - CIT(A) allowed it - revenue appeal - Held that:- As decided in assessee's own case for the assessment year 2006-07 on similar facts the Tribunal held that the assessee is a mutual concern as there is complete identity between the contributors and participators - the assessee is a society of industries of hazardous nature and the object is the treatment of waste produced by these industries to keep environment clean. The observation of the AO that it is not mentioned in the return that the principle of mutuality applies to the assessee has been held having no merit because what is important is the actual conduct of the assessee even if it is not mentioned in the return, it makes no difference to the status of the assessee - as predominant object of the assessee has been found the welfare of its members and in the process if any income is received from a person other than the members it would not change the status of the assessee - in favour of assessee. Addition on account of membership contribution - CIT(A) deleted it - Held that:- As decided in assessee's own case for the assessment year 2006-07 on similar facts CIT(A) has deleted the addition made on account of membership subscription on the basis that the assessee is covered by the doctrine of mutuality - as doctrine of mutuality proved in favour of assessee addition need to be deleted - in favour of assessee. Interest earned on fixed deposits made out of subscription money received - CIT(A)treated it as income of the assessee - Held that:- As decided in assessee's own case for the assessment year 2006-07 the Tribunal held that the decision of CIT(A) in respect of treatment of interest income are contradictory. He had deleted interest income of Rs. 1,34,234/- on the basis of concept of mutuality but had upheld the addition of interest income of Rs. 247113/- and Rs. 23,506/- - thus following the same direct the AO to delete the addition on interest on fixed deposit made out of the subscription money received from subscribers - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 326 Treatment of TDS amount as actual income of the assessee company - Addition by applying 4% commission on debit and credit entries - the assessee did not conduct land development work for M/s. PACL India Ltd. and PGF Ltd. - CIT deleted the additions - Held that:- It is an established proposition of law that result of past years under similar facts is the best guidance for estimating the income, thus under these circumstances the CIT(A) was justified to take assistance of the immediately previous assessment year to estimate the profit of the assessee. There is no dispute that in the assessment year 2007-08 on identical issue arose wherein CIT(A) has deleted the addition made in respect of TDS amount and addition made on account of commission has been restricted to 2.24% of the gross receipt shown in the profit and loss account from M/s. PACL India Ltd. and others. As the revenue has not questioned the first appellate order for the assessment year 2007-08 on an identical issue under similar facts before the Tribunal, thus the CIT(A) has rightly deleted the addition made on account of TDS treating the amount claimed from M/s. PACL India Ltd. and PGF Ltd. as real income of assessee and in restricting the addition made on account of 4% commission on debit and credit entries regarding providing accommodation entries to the said companies to 2.24% of the gross receipt shown in the profit and loss account keeping in view the precedent of last assessment year 2007-08 under similar facts which remained unquestioned by the revenue - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 325 Penalty u/s 271(1)(c) - undisclosed income - Notices u/s 153A - Held that:- In case of a search initiated on or after 1.6.2007 as provided in Explanation 5A, the assessee will be liable for penalty/s 271(1)(c) both in respect of assets as well as any income based on any entry in any books of account or other documents or transactions. But no such provision relating to entries was in existence in Explanation 5 prior to insertion of Explanation 5A in section 271(1). Hence the scheme of assessment till insertion of Explanation 5A and section 271AAA by the Finance Act, 2007 gave immunity to the assessees in respect of undisclosed income based on entries recorded in seized material In the case of the assessee the search was conducted on 22.11.2006 and cash of Rs. 1,11,45,350/- was found from the possession of the assessee. The assessee had undisclosed commission income as well as purchases and sales as seen from the statement of affairs made by the assessee based on seized material. The assessee had drawn cash flow statement for the entire period of six years in order to determine undisclosed income based on seized material for each of six assessment years. Explanation 5 to section 271(1) of the Act cannot be invoked in assessment year 2004-05 merely on presumption that the assessee might have been in possession of cash throughout the period covered by search assessments. The income offered to tax u/s 153A for assessment year 2004-05 is based on entries recorded in the seized material. Unlike provisions of Explanation 5A, the provisions of Explanation 5 cannot be invoked in assessment year 2004-05 in respect of entries recorded in seized material - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 324 Addition u/s 40A(3) - cash purchases above Rs 20,000 - business of commission agency and trading of vegetables and foods - Held that:- CIT(A) has correctly held that the case of the assessee is not covered either under Rule 6DD(f) or Rule 6DD(k) of Income-tax Rules, 1962. Firstly, Rule 6DD(f) is applicable only in the cases when the payments are made in cash for the purchase of the agricultural produce directly to the cultivators, growers or producers of the agricultural produce, whereas in present case, appellant has made no such payments to the cultivators, growers or producers of the agricultural produce. Secondly, appellant has made final purchases from the Arhatiyas (commission agents / traders) and same cannot be treated as agents of the assessee firm within the meaning of Rule 6DD(k). Circular No. 34 dated 5.3.1970 makes it clear that the payment to Arhatiyas do not fall for exclusion under above sub clause. Thirdly, there is no material on record to show that there was exception or unavoidable circumstances for making payments in cash. Payments to same party were made by cheques and by cash also. Therefore, invoking the provisions of section 40A(3) of the Act was justified. On contention of assessee that authorities below have not doubted the genuineness of the payments made in cash it is held that those genuine and bonafide payments could not be taken out of purview of section 40A(3) after amendment of the Rules by the Finance Act, (1995) which was clarified vide Board's Circular No. 117 dated 14.8.1995 - Decided against assessee 2012 (9) TMI 323 Best judgement assessment - rejection of books of accounts - trading addition made on ground of decrease in G.P. rate - cash payments made on account of purchase - self made vouchers maintained - purchase not fully verifiable as no stock register was maintained - Held that:- In view of facts, rejection of books of account were justified since certained purchases remain unverifiable. However, trading addition at Rs.1,79,919/- is on higher side. It is seen that AO has not asked the reason for decline in GP rate. Further, making payment in cash does not attract any trading addition if it is not found that purchases are inflated. It was explained before CIT(A) that turnover was pursistently decreasing & there was a stiff competion in the market as market was flooded with the cheap Chinese furniture, therefore, turnover as well as profit was on decreasing side. It is further seen that though assessee has made purchases from few parties in cash however Vat was paid and bills were received & payments has also been made by cheque. Explanation of the assessee can not be rejected in totto. In view of aforesaid and decreasing trend of the profit, trading addition of Rs.40,000/- is sustained that will meet the end of justice - Decided partly in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 322 Validity of reopening of assessment earlier framed u/s 143(3) after expiry of four years from the end of the relevant AY - assessment reopened on ground that amount surrendered on account of excess stock and excess cash is an unexplained investment in the stock and unexplained money and is deemed income of the assessee u/s 69 and 69A - assessee had claimed remuneration to the partners against the income surrendered by the assessee firm at the time of survey operation u/s 133A(1) - Held that:- At the very outset, it is observed that initiation of re-assessment proceedings was based on change of opinion of the AO which is not permissible in law. It is an admitted fact that the assessee has fully and truly disclosed all material facts necessary for assessment at the time of filing of return and also during the course of assessment proceedings and the assessment was completed u/s 143(3). It is well settled law that re-assessment proceedings cannot be initiated merely by fresh application of mind of the Assessing Officer to same set of information which is nothing but change of opinion, which is not permissible under the law. There was no material or information which had come to possession of Assessing Officer after completion of the original assessment to justify the reopening - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 321 Deemed Dividend - partnership concern constituted of two partners C & H - said C was also Director of M/s V having 23% share holding in the said company - addition made on premise that holdings of the partners of the erstwhile partnership concern were more than 10% and hence provisions of S2(22)(e) were applicable - Held that:- Where the conditions laid down in S2(22) with regard to minimum shareholding by the shareholders in the assessee company were not fulfilled, the shareholding of various different persons could not be clubbed to decide the issue of fulfillment of condition laid down in section 2(22)(e). Undoubtedly the assessee had business relations with M/s V and over and above the sales amount, the said company had given cheques to the assessee. The said transactions though were in the nature of advances or loans, but no shareholding was held by the assessee partnership concern in the Indian company and in the absence of the same, the provisions of section 2(22)(e) were not attracted, which comes into operation only when there is shareholding of more than 10% of voting power and there is interchange of funds for non-business purposes - Decided in favor of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 320 Deduction u/s 80IC - partial dis-allowance - assessee engaged in the business of steel fabrication and manufacturing of prefabricated structure, mainly supplied to the Defence and Paramilitary Organization - units at both Chandigarh and Baddi - profits of the Baddi unit claimed as deduction u/s 80IC - deduction claimed u/s 80IC restricted partially on account of three components - apportionment of administrative and general expenses in certain ratio between the Chandigarh unit and the Baddi unit - ineligibility of deduction u/s 80IC on ground of profit earned from civil works contract - Trading vs. Manufacturing activities Held that:- In view of the admission of the assessee during the assessment proceedings as evidenced by the recalculation of the allocation of the ratio between Baddi unit and Chandigarh unit, addition to the extent of Rs.4,03,445/- is upheld. Further allocation of Rs.2,02,213/- to the Baddi unit on account of exclusion of excise duty from the sales turnover of Chandigarh unit for computing percentage ratio is also upheld. Consequently, the deduction u/s 80IC being reduced to the extent of Rs.6,05,658/- is upheld. Profit earned from civil works contract - Admittedly, assessee is not entitled to deduction u/s 80IC on the profits arising on civil contract work carried out by the assessee. However, following the principles of natural justice, we remit this limited issue back to the file of the AO to determine the profits from work contract. Trading vs. Manufacturing activities - Held that:- Merit is found in the plea of the assessee that the assessee was engaged in the business of manufacturing of prefabricated sheets/cabins as per order received from the Ministry of Defence. The said items were being manufactured at the specification of the customers and certain items were not manufactured by it, but were put together for supply the complete unit, i.e. certain paints were bought and supplied alongwith manufactured items, final coat of paints was not put on the sheds as the said items were being transported for a long distance and only on being erected the paints were put by the army itself and the said items were not sold by the assessee, but were part of the contract deal of supply of the manufactured items. Therefore, it is held that assessee is entitled to benefit of claim of deduction on the said bought out items and there is no need to rework the deduction u/s 80IC Dis-allowance u/s 40(a)(ia) - non-deduction of tax at source from payment of erection charges - Held that:- In case amount has been paid as on the close of the year, no disallowance is warranted u/s 40 a(ia) in view of the ratio laid down in case of ACIT V. Merilyn Shipping & Transports (2012 (4) TMI 290 - ITAT VISAKHAPATNAM). However, in case the said payment has been made after the close of the year then the said amount is dis-allowable. Further, where the amount is disallowed, the said is added back to the profits of the business and the assessee is entitled to the claim of deduction u/s 80IC on the said profits being eligible profits for claiming the said deduction. Matter remitted back to file of AO for requisite verification 2012 (9) TMI 319 Registration u/s 12AA - rejected on invocation of Section 13(1)(ii) and lifelong membership of the trustees and assessee being both society and Trust - assessee Trust running a school - Held that:- CIT while granting registration U/S 12AA has to look into the objects of the Trust and whether the Trust is carrying on the said objects of the Trust. See Surya Educational & Charitable Trust(2011 (10) TMI 47 - PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT). Objects of the present assessee Trust were in the line of Education and the assessee was running both school and college. Once a Trust is engaged in the activities of providing Education by way of setting up school and college, which is one of the recognized object of charitable activity and no evidence having being brought on record, that the said activities of the Trust were not genuine, the said Trust is entitled to Registration u/s 12AA. The satisfaction of conditions of Sec. 11 to 13 is to be gone into by AO, while determining the income of Trust at the time of assessment and not to be gone into by CIT, while granting registration U/s 12AA. On objection that assessee is both Trust and society is recognized system and once it is registered as Trust, provision of election are not applicable to Trusts. The next objection that Trustee and their successor were lifelong member and hence activities of trust being not genuine are not correct, it is held that Rule against perpetuity is not applicable in case of Public charitable Trust, as per section 18 of Transfer of Property Act. CIT directed to grant Registration U/S 12AA - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 318 Deduction u/s 80IC - dis-allowance - manufacturing of foundation anchor rods for windmills on its own behalf and on behalf of the third party - dis-allowance - Held that:- Issue stands covered by the order of the Tribunal in assessee's own case relating to AY 2005-06 wherein it was held that activity carried on by the assessee amounts to manufacture and the profits earned by the assessee from carrying on the manufacturing activity are eligible for the deduction u/s 80IC Addition made on account of technical knowhow charges taking the same as income of the assessee from undisclosed sources, not eligible for deduction u/s 80IC - Held that:- Issue raised in the present appeal is identical to the issue raised in the earlier years and following the same it is held that bifurcation in the income from business and income from undisclosed sources has been carried out by the AO only on presumptions, which have no basis. No merit in the said estimation of income from undisclosed sources. Deduction u/s 80IC is allowed - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 317 Exemption u/s 54EC - dis-allowance - LTCG on sale of properties - sale consideration deposited in Bank out of which FDR was purchased and some money was given loan to certain persons - later REC bonds purchased - this sum according to the AO had been received by way of transfer from another bank account of the assessee - dis-allowance on ground that investment in purchase of REC bonds were not out of capital gain - Held that:- Only requirement u/s 54EC is that investment in specified assets should have been made within a period of six months from the date of transfer of such capital asset. This condition has been complied by the assessee and there is no further condition that the funds should be given out of capital gain. Otherwise also once money is deposited in the bank account it gets merged with other funds of the assessee and it is impossible to locate which funds have been used for purchase of specified assets because the normal businessman would keep on doing various transactions in the bank account. Deduction allowed - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 316 Interest paid for acquisition of capital assets for existing business or expansion of business - violation of section 36(1)(iii) - addition - Held that:- Since the acquisition of land is of capital nature and therefore, interest paid for borrowings for the purpose of purchasing of such land is not allowable. As far as other items are concerned, it was stated that no business purpose is there. Order of CIT(A) upheld confirming addition on account of interest dis-allowance - Decided against assessee Addition u/s 40(a)(ia) - non-deduction of tax at source from amount paid as repair and maintenance - Held that:- Since the payments have already been paid, provisions of section 40(a)(ia) are not applicable. Addition is directed to be deleted. See ACIT V. Merilyn Shipping & Transports (2012 (4) TMI 290 - ITAT VISAKHAPATNAM) - Decided in favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 315 Long term capital gain - dispute regarding computation of fair market value (fmv)as on 01.04.1981 - assessee contending rate of Rs.50/- per sq. ft against Rs.36/- per sq. ft adopted by Revenue - Held that:- Adoption of the rate by the AO and subsequent reduction of the same by the CIT(A), cannot be sustained, in view of the relevant documentary evidence filed by the assessee in the form of report from the registered valuer and a comparable case. Therefore, impugned rate shown by the assessee is founded, on relevant documentary evidence - Decided in favor of assessee Non-consideration of cost of improvement in building in AY 88-89 and 89-90 - Revenue contended non-furnishing of evidence by assessee in support of same - Held that:- Assessee merely referred to certain pages of the diary, which cannot be construed as credible and reliable evidence. The submission made by the assessee is not plausible and in the absence of cogent and corroborative evidences, the same cannot be accepted. Needless to say that the onus to prove the incurring of expenditure, on renovation squarely lies on the assessee and the assessee has miserably failed, to prove the factum of incurring of the expenses - Decided against assessee Addition u/s 68 - Cash deposits in bank accounts - Held that:- From records it is evident that deposit has been made from the withdrawals made from the banks. Therefore, CIT(A) rightly deleted the addition made on this ground - Decided in favor of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 314 DTAA between India & UAE – assessee (UAE company) engaged in the business of shipping operations of running feeder line between India and Dubai – taxability of ‘slot hire charges’ – assesse contended non-taxability in view of Advance Ruling (AAR) in the appellant’s own case - Held that:- The assessee's main contention that its case is covered by AAR ruling, has not been analyzed at all. In impugned AAR ruling there is a categorical averment that income derived by the assessee by operations of ships in international traffic would be governed by Article 8 of the DTAA. It is evident that the assessee's submissions and objections have been brushed aside without giving any proper reasons and sufficient consideration. This casual attitude of the DRP leads to harassment of the assessee and drag them to protracted litigation In view of aforesaid, order is set aside and matter remitted to the file of the DRP to consider the objections of the assessee and pass a proper and speaking order giving direction u/s 144C – Decided in favor of assessee for statistical purposes. Customs 2012 (9) TMI 349 Petition for contempt - impugned seizure and detention order quashed - deliberate and willful non-compliance and violation of order non release the truck and the betel nuts loaded - Held that:- From the scheme of the procedure of the seizure, investigation and confiscation it is quite apparent that there is no scope for continuance of the investigation after the seizure and detention of the goods had been quashed by the court of law after considering the merits or otherwise of the claim of the respective parties based on their pleadings and materials. Hence the plea raised on behalf of the opposite parties with respect to investigation and confiscation is absolutely frivolous and ridiculous, to say the least, and had obviously been raised by their counsel merely to save them from the punishment of contempt, which they have clearly committed and continued committing it merely to punish the petitioner for his fault of approaching this Court. As clear from the records that till date the opposite parties are giving effect to the show cause notice dated 18.11.2011 and are not releasing the goods, which is in direct confrontation with the judicial order of this Court dated 14.11.2011 passed which remained in force at least till 25.04.2012 when order of stay was passed in L.P.A. No. 131 of 2012 i.e. for more than five months, although the direction was for immediate release of goods. However, in any view of the matter order of the Assistant Commissioner, Customs dated 18.11.2011 was clearly in the teeth of and in violation of the said order dated 14.11.2011 passed by this Court. Thus Court has no option but to hold the the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, Customs (Prevention) Division, Forbisganj, District Kishanganj contemner guilty of contempt and punish him with simple imprisonment of three months, which must start within 30 days from the date of passing of this order and also with fine of Rs.2,000.00 which must be paid within 30 days from date of this order in favour of Patna High Court Legal Aid Society as he has orchestrated the things and misconstrued the provisions of law to the detriment of the petitioner merely with the purpose to overreach the order of this Court dated 14.11.2011 passed in C.W.J.C. No. 12197 of 2011 - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 347 Drawback claim - conversion of shipping bill from DEPB scheme to Duty Drawback Scheme - Assistant Commissioner, rejected the claim of the petitioner treating the same as a claim for conversion from DEPB scheme to draw back scheme, on the ground that the petitioner’s claim for DEPB scheme has not been denied, which is a condition precedent for conversion of the claim under the DEPB scheme to one under the Drawback scheme – Held that:- Power to consider the claim under the proviso to Rule 12 is squarely on the Commissioner of Customs. As such, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs was bound to place the matter before the Commissioner of Customs for an order under the proviso to Rule 12(1) of the Drawback Rules - Assistant Commissioner had not done that - 3rd respondent directed to consider the claim of the petitioner for benefits under the drawback scheme by exercising his discretion under the proviso to Rule 12(1) 2012 (9) TMI 313 Rent or demurrage charges on goods detained or confiscated - goods not kept in Bonded warehouse - Held that:- As the assessee were advised to shift the goods to bonded warehouse and in compliance to it he approached the bonded warehouse but as there was no space in the bonded warehouse, same was intimated to the department - as per Notification No.26/09-Cus. (N.T.) dt. 17.3.2009 clearly explicit that if the goods are seized or detained by the proper officer, the assessee shall not be charged with any rent or demurrage on the goods. Therefore, the first appellate authority has rightly held in the impugned order that respondents are not liable to pay detention and demurrage charges - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 312 Penalty - respondents sought to file the bills of entry after a lapse of more than thirty days from the date of unloading of the imported goods – Held that:- Section 48 stipulates that, if the imported goods are not cleared for home consumption or warehoused or transshipped within 30 days from the date of unloading thereof at a customs station or within such other and with the permission of the proper officer he sold by the custodian. Thus, Section 48 of the Customs Act empowers the proper officer either to grant further time for clearance of imported goods or to permit the custodian to sell off such goods. The Section does not contain any penal consequences in the event a bill of entry is not filed or goods are not cleared within the time stipulated - appeal filed by the Revenue dismissed 2012 (9) TMI 311 Refund - burden of proof – Held that:- Where a person claims refund of fine or penalty, there can be no presumption that he has passed on this incidence to any other person - If the department seeks to deny cash refund to such a person on the ground of unjust enrichment, the burden is on them to show that the incidence of fine/penalty has been passed on by the claimant to any other person - refund is not hit by the bar of unjust enrichment – In favor of assessee Corporate Laws 2012 (9) TMI 346 Winding-up petition on arrears of rent - Whether the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) would have any impact on a proceeding u/s 433, 434 and 439 of the Companies Act, 1956 - Held that:- Appellant herein as landlord filed a suit for eviction against the respondent company on the ground of default in making payment of the rents and also on grounds of reasonable requirement, in the City Civil Court at Calcutta, under the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956. The proceedings under Section 439 not being a suit, but a Petition, the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2 CPC would not be attracted since the bar indicated therein is with regard to suits - Order 2 CPC deals with the frame of suits and the various rules contained therein also refer to suits for obtaining the reliefs of a civil nature and on the other hand, a proceeding under Sections 433, 434 and 439 of the Companies Act, 1956, is not a suit, but a Petition which does not attract the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2 CPC, which deals with suits. Petitioner has submitted that the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, does not make any provision for recovery of arrear rents and provision has only been made under the provisions of Section 17 for deposit of the arrear rents which are admitted by the tenant at the time of entering appearance and filing Written Statement in the suit for eviction. Provision has also been made for payment of such arrears in instalments, but there is no provision for recovery of the arrear rents for which a separate suit has to be filed, as has been indicated by the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court. Set aside the findings of the learned Single Judge in regard to the application of the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2 CPC to a winding-up proceeding under the Companies Act that may be filed for recovery of the dues payable by the Respondent-tenant to the Appellant-landlord. We are, however, ad idem with the Division Bench that the relief of the Appellant-landlord, if any, in this case, will not lie in a winding-up petition, but in a suit filed for the said purpose, particularly when the said relief is not available under the rent laws which only deal with protection of tenants from eviction and the right of the landlords to recover the tenanted premises on the grounds specified therein. 2012 (9) TMI 310 Winding up of company - dispute on tenancy rights - Wacoma a company claiming to be a tenant of the self-same bungalow as against Incandescent's who went into liqudation - At one point of time Wacoma was Incandescent's subsidiary but subsequently the companies became independent of each other - Held that:- Incandescent was a tenant in respect of the property under Tivoli Park, since 1970. Admittedly, there was no evidence that the tenancy was terminated at any point of time - Unless the tenancy is terminated, it would continue to remain. If a tenant defaults in making payment of rent, the tenancy does not automatically come to an end. It would depend upon a positive consequential act of the parties. The landlord may give notice to quit. The tenant may accept such notice and quit the tenancy. If he does not do so, the landlord has to approach a Civil Court for a decree of eviction and recovery of possession. In the instant case, Incandescent was paying rent. At one point of time Wacoma was its subsidiary. Subsequently the companies became independent of each other Incandescent had gone in liquidation in September 2002. There was evidence on record to show that Incandescent paid rent even in August 2002. Wacoma claimed tenancy since April 2002, on the strength of the receipts, thus there could not be two tenancies in respect of one self-same premises. Incandescent paid rent even in August 2002 that would automatically demolish the case of Wacoma, having entered into agreement for tenancy in March, 2002. Pertinent to note, Wacoma could not produce any document except the receipts to prove their tenancy - in absence of a surrender of tenancy by Incandescent there could not be any new tenancy created in favour of Wacoma - Incandescent paid rent up to August 2002 and as it went in liquidation in September 2002. Hence, the case made out by Wacoma that they got the tenancy under Tivoli through Sutodia in March, 2002, falls to the ground. The company in liquidation admittedly does not own the property Tivoli cannot be forced either to sell or let it out to Wacoma as Court cannot create tenancy without the consent of the landlord. Service Tax 2012 (9) TMI 378 Service tax liability under Business Auxiliary Service - penalty u/s 76, 77, & 78 - assessee contested that no liability at all because no Business Auxiliary service was provided by the assessee - Held that:- It can be fairly concluded from the activities carried out by the assessee that the assessee provided Business Auxiliary service in promoting market for its principal therefore, service tax element is confirmed. No scope to grant relief of penalty under Section 77 - Penalty u/s 76 is set aside by Commissioner (Appeals) - penalty under Section 78 is concerned, looking to the controversy involved penalty should be limited to 25% of service tax element payable by the assessee within 30 days of receipt of communication from adjudicating authority on re-computation. 2012 (9) TMI 377 Consulting Engineer Service - Short payment of service tax - assessee contested to consider the service as Intellectual Property Right Service - Held that:- Considering reply to the show cause notice the appellants submitted that they had paid R & D Cess and what was received by them was Intellectual Property Rights Service. Obviously there was a mistake on the part of the appellants in showing the classification of service in the return wrongly but it cannot be said that they treated the service as consulting engineering service in view of the fact that they had paid R & D Cess in September 09 itself i.e. before filing the return for the period ending 30.09.09 as evident from challans submitted. As the Commissioner (Appeals) would have examined the contract, nature of service received and give reasons as to why the service cannot be classified as Intellectual Property Right Service matter is required to be remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) to pass a well reasoned order - orders for waiver of predeposits. 2012 (9) TMI 376 CENVAT credit - input services - activities related to initial public offer – Held that:- Services availed in connection with floating initial public offer and the allied business activities would fall within inclusive part of the definition of input service under Rule 2(1) - waiver of pre-deposit granted 2012 (9) TMI 375 Demand - Interior Decorators – Held that:- Assessee engaged in making wooden furniture as per design and drawing supplied by their customer and also undertook civil work, painting work, plumbing work and electrical work - Their activity will not come under the category of ‘interior decorator’ as it is apparent on record that the assessees in question are engaged in the activity of execution of work of the design and drawing supplied to them by their clients for civil work, sanitation work plumbing work, electrical work and wooden furniture. Matter remanded back for re-adjudication. 2012 (9) TMI 339 Non registration under maintenance and repairing service under Clause:(zzg) and erection, commissioning and installation service under Clause:(zzd) - Revenue appeal against non imposition of penalty - Held that:- As the Appellant could not take the registration and pay the Service Tax under bona fide belief that due to changes introduced in the above-mentioned services from time to time and on being pointed out, they obtained the Service Tax Registration and paid the dues - As they also paid the Service Tax from their own pocket on not receiving anything from their clients there was no intention on their part not to pay the Service Tax within time - as the cause explained by the Appellant not to follow the provisions of the Finance Act, 1994 is reasonable no penalty u/s 76 is levied in view of the provisions of Section 80 - in favour of assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 338 Short payment of service tax - penalty u/s 70 & 76 - Held that:- As the appellants are not contesting the levy of Service Tax nor imposition of penalty under section 70 for delay in filing of ST-3 return but contested only against levy of penalty u/s 76 need to be set aside as the applicant could not pay the Service Tax due to reasonable belief that since their value of taxable service is Rs.8 lakhs therefore there was a reasonable cause for failure to pay Service Tax which they have already paid. 2012 (9) TMI 337 Extended period of limitation – clearing and forwarding agent - 16-7-1997 to 31-8-1999 - Held that:- Show cause notice under the provisions of Section 65, 66 and 67 of the Finance Act, 1994 was issued on 2-7-2002 after a period of about three years - no omission or failure on the part of the assessee to make return under Section 70 of the Finance Act, 1994 for any prescribed period or to disclose wholly and truly all material facts necessary for assessment for any prescribed period and the value of taxable service for that prescribed period has escaped assessment or has been under assessed - case of the assessee comes within the definition of bona fide doubt and in that event, the extended period as provided under Section 73 of the Finance Act, 1994 would not be applicable - appeal is dismissed. 2012 (9) TMI 336 Penalties under Sections 76 and 77 - appellant had paid service tax promptly as soon as the omission was pointed out - appellants were under the impression that they were not required to pay interest and after paying service tax they had intimated the department on 19-12-2008. However no reply to this letter was received and the department initiated proceedings by issuing show cause notice on 12-7-2009 and even though the appellant paid the interest as soon as the show cause notice was issued - CBEC has also issued a letter dated 3-10-2007 wherein the field offices have been directed not to commence proceedings where the assessee discharges full amount of service tax and interest Penalty under Section 78 – Held that:- Where there was no need for the appellants to resort to suppression or mis-declaration since whatever service tax was to be paid, they were eligible for the credit - By evading the payment of service tax, the appellant stands to lose rather than getting any undue benefit. By delaying payment of service tax, the assessee had to pay interest on the amount which is not available as cenvat credit - in this case, suppression of fact or mis-declaration could not have been invoked for imposition of penalty under Section 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 - there is no other evidence to justify imposition of penalty - appeal is allowed Central Excise 2012 (9) TMI 348 EOU Unit - Denial of benefit of Notification No. 23/2003-C.E – Exemption from payment of SAD - Held that:- Notification No. 23/2003-C.E. grants exemption from payment of SAD on the condition that if the goods are cleared into DTA are not exempted by the State Government from the payment of Sales Tax - appellants cleared the goods by availing the benefit of Notification issued by the State Government, therefore, appellants are not entitled for the benefit of Notification No. 23/2003-C.E. Appeals are dismissed 2012 (9) TMI 345 Denial of rebate claim - Held that:- As in terms of Notification No. 05/2006-CE(NT) dated 14.3.2006 where non-adherence input/output norms have been brought out the authority examined that there was failure to fulfil the condition of notification. The appellant also could not prove whether Cenvat credit was availed or not and the claim application was also found to be blank in some respect, thus all the factors which negated the claim - against assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 344 Clarifications on the petitioner's representations - writ of Mandamus - Power of CBEC to issue clarification u/s 37B on demand with respect to levy of duties of excise on such goods - Held that:- The relief prayed for by the petitioner cannot be granted, as the petitioner has not been in a position to show that they have a right to demand the issuance of the clarifications, as prayed for in its vaan representations, dated 12.01.2012, 14.04.2012 and 25.04.2012, and that there is a concomitant obligation on the part of the respondent to issue such clarifications - Writ dismissed. 2012 (9) TMI 343 Delay of 39 days in filing - Held that:- On considering the assessee's submission there is no proper explanation given for condonation of delay that the factory of the appellant is closed since November, 2006 and therefore Director of the appellant lives at its native place at Rohtak, Haryana who came to know about the receipt of Order-in-Appeal though RTI from family members only on 1st week of December when he visited his family member and then immediately arranged for drafting and filing of the appeal but by that time, there was already a delay of 39 days in filing the appeal. Appellant has not made out a case for condonation of delay in filing the appeals before the Tribunal. 2012 (9) TMI 342 Export of goods – Drawback claim – Denial of drawback claim is based on test report – retest of remnant samples - Held that:- Denial of drawback claim on the basis of first test report cannot be held to be legal and proper - Department has not been able to produce any other evidence confirming misclassification of goods - in the absence of retest of remnant samples as the remnant samples were not available - original authority directed to sanction the drawback claims 2012 (9) TMI 341 Classification - manufacture of Potato wafers – Held that:- Rings made out flour of rice, wheat and potato; the dry pellets are obtained by the respondent from M/s. TTK Pharma Ltd - dry pellets are fried and after adding salt and flavours, the same are packed in unit containers for sale - Since the goods, in question, are snacks (Namkeens), the same are covered by serial No. 3 of the table of Notification No. 4/97-C.E., dated 1-3-1997 and hence the benefit of duty exemption has been rightly extended - Revenue’s appeal is dismissed. 2012 (9) TMI 340 Extended period of limitation - conversion of rejected materials into granules - suppression – Held that:- reprocessing of rejected goods if yielded only scrap, process would amount to manufacture and the scrap is removable on payment of duty. Necessary intimations were given by the appellant on 4-2-2002 and subsequently there were correspondences with the Revenue, which prove that the facts were not suppressed by the appellant from the department – In favor of assessee 2012 (9) TMI 309 Cenvat Credit on inputs used in manufacture of exempted final products - Low Sulphur Heavy Stock (LSHC) used as fuel in the generation of steam which was in turn used in the manufacture of exempted fertilizer - the assessee contested that exclusion of fuel-inputs from the purview of sub-rule (2) of Rule 6 would mean that such inputs are also automatically excluded from sub-rule (1) - Held that:- Sub-rule (1) is plenary and it restates a principle, namely, that CENVAT credit for duty paid on inputs used in the manufacture of exempted final products is not allowable, thus sub-rule (1) is plenary, hence, it cannot be said that because sub-rule (2) is inapplicable to fuel-input(s), CENVAT credit is automatically available to such inputs even if they are used in the manufacture of exempted goods. The cumulative reading of sub-rules (1) and (2) makes it abundantly clear that the circumstances specified in sub-rule (2), which inter alia requires separate accounting of inputs, are not applicable to the fuel-input(s). However, the said sub-rule (2) nowhere says that the legal effect of sub-rule (1) will stand terminated in respect of fuel-inputs which do not fall in sub-rule (2). Therefore, sub-rule (1) shall apply in respect of goods used as fuel and on such application, the credit will not be permissible on such quantity of fuel which is used in the manufacture of exempted goods. In view of the fact that fuel was used for generation of steam or electricity and these are not final products but intermediate products, the restrictions are not applicable and they are covered by the phrase for any other purpose. The Hon ble Supreme Court has taken the view that if the fuel is used for the manufacture of non dutiable final product, credit is not eligible. It may be seen that the Tribunal had not considered the provisions of Rule 6 and had also not considered the fact that Rule 6(1) is the plenary rule. The decision of the Apex Court in the GNFC [2009 (8) TMI 15 - SUPREME COURT] was rendered on 17.08.09 whereas the decision in the assessee's own case was rendered on 16.07.08. Not only the decision of the Apex Court in GNFC was subsequent to the decision in the assessee's own case but also in the case of GNFC, Apex Court had considered the relevant provisions of the law, applied them to the facts which are similar to the case of GSFC and came to the conclusion and therefore the ratio decidendi in that case would be definitely applicable to the present case. 2012 (9) TMI 308 Condonation the delay in filing the appeal - Held that:- As there is no power vested in the appellate authority to condone the delay of over six months in preferring the appeal, the appeal made by the assessee is hereby dismissed considering delay of 525 days in filing the present appeal - against assessee. 2012 (9) TMI 307 Maintainability of appeal – Held that:- National Litigation Policy was also published on 20-10-2010 giving instructions not to file an appeal to the High Court where the subject matter of the appeal is Rs. 2 lakhs and below - appeal is dismissed. 2012 (9) TMI 306 Rebate claim – rejection of claim for non-endorsement of the name of the merchant exporter in the CT-I Certificate, non-execution of bond on behalf of merchant exporter – Held that:- ARE-1 contains the names of manufacturer as well as merchant exporter and the Central Excise Invoice No., Mark & No. of the packages of goods - no dispute about the actual export of the goods - procedural infractions of notifications/circulars should be condoned if exports have really taken place and the law is settled that substantive benefit cannot be denied for procedural lapses - original authority is directed to accept the proof of export by ignoring the said procedural lapses – rebate claim allowed 2012 (9) TMI 305 Refund – export of goods – applicant a EHTP Unit which exported certain consignments on payment of duty and filed rebate claims which were rejected by the lower authorities that as the applicant being EHTP Unit, a export oriented undertaking, are not required to pay duty as per provisions of Section 5A(1) of Central Excise Act – Held that:- Government cannot retain the amount collected without authority. Applicant has also requested that at least the Cenvat credit may be allowed to be recredited in their cenvat account - amount so paid by the applicant is to be treated as voluntary deposit with department and same is to be returned the way it was initially paid - Government directs that the said excess paid amount may be allowed to be recredited in their Cenvat Credit Account Indian Laws 2012 (9) TMI 374 Disclosure to the Media was by SEBI in breach of confidentiality - Directions with regard to reporting of matters (in electronic and print media) which are sub judice - whether Postponement orders constitute restriction under Article 19(1)(a) and whether such restriction is saved under Article 19(2)? - Held that:- Anyone, be he an accused or an aggrieved person, who genuinely apprehends on the basis of the content of the publication and its effect, an infringement of his/ her rights under Article 21 to a fair trial and all that it comprehends, would be entitled to approach an appropriate writ court and seek an order of postponement of the offending publication/ broadcast or postponement of reporting of certain phases of the trial (including identity of the victim or the witness or the complainant), and that the court may grant such preventive relief, on a balancing of the right to a fair trial and Article 19(1)(a) rights, bearing in mind the principles of necessity and proportionality and keeping in mind that such orders of postponement should be for short duration and should be applied only in cases of real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice or to the fairness of trial. Such neutralizing device (balancing test) would not be an unreasonable restriction and on the contrary would fall within the proper constitutional framework. Exhaustively referring to the contents of the IAs filed by Sahara and SEBI the right to negotiate and settle in confidence is a right of a citizen and has been equated to a right of the accused to defend himself in a criminal trial. In this case, Sahara has complained to this Court on the basis of breach of confidentiality by the Media. In the circumstances, it cannot be contended that there was no lis. Sahara, therefore, contended that this Court should frame guidelines or give directions which are advisory or self-regulatory whereas SEBI contended that the guidelines/directions should be given by this Court which do not have to be coercive. In the circumstances, constitutional adjudication on the above points was required and it cannot be said that there was no lis between the parties. As right to freedom of expression under the First Amendment in US is absolute which is not so under Indian Constitution in view of such right getting restricted by the test of reasonableness and in view of the Heads of Restrictions under Article 19(2). Thus, the clash model is more suitable to American Constitution rather than Indian or Canadian jurisprudence, since First Amendment has no equivalent of Article 19(2) or Section 1 of the Canadian Charter.In this case, this Court is only declaring under Article 141, the constitutional limitations on free speech under Article 19(1)(a), in the context of Article 21. The exercise undertaken by this Court is an exercise of exposition of constitutional limitations under Article 141 read with Article 129/Article 215. When the content of rights is considered by this Court, the Court has also to consider the enforcement of the rights as well as the remedies available for such enforcement. In the circumstances, we have expounded the constitutional limitations on free speech under Article 19(1)(a) in the context of Article 21 and under Article 141 read with Article 129/Article 215 which preserves the inherent jurisdiction of the Courts of Record in relation to contempt law - what constitutes an offending publication would depend on the decision of the court on case to case basis. Hence, guidelines on reporting cannot be framed across the Board.
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Newsletter: Where Service Meets Reader Approval.

TMI Tax Updates - e-Newsletter September 15, 2012

Articles

1. Service Tax – Reverse charge method (RCM) will be more effective and simple than mechanism of Service Tax Deduction at Source(STDS) .

2. Reversal of Cenvat credit on waste and scrap of Capital Goods, Spares and accessories

3. Lower/Nil rate of tax deduction certificate for works contractors under Punjab VAT Act, 2005

News

1. Permitting FDI in multi-brand product retail trading.

2. Amendment of conditions in the policy on Foreign Direct Investment in single-brand product retail trading.

3. CCI launches a Knowledge Partnership Initiative (KPI) with Prominent Law Schools .

4. Exports for August 2012 Stood at USD 22.3 Billion.

5. Anand Sharma Addresses State Chief Secretaries and Industry Secretaries on Manufacturing.

6. The Government is Intensively Engaged with Industry on the Constraints that Affect Industrial Production and Will Continue its Efforts to Find Practical Solutions to the Problems: FM

7. CBDT explains the rationale behind APA scheme

Notifications

1. 35/2012 - dated 14-9-2012 - CE

2. F. No.1/1/2003 – CL.V (Pt. file) - dated 30-8-2012 - Co. Law

3. 41/2012 - dated 13-9-2012 - ADD

4. 52/2012 - dated 13-9-2012 - Cus

5. 51/2012 - dated 13-9-2012 - Cus

Circulars / Instructions / Orders

1. [F.No. A.50050/95/2012-Ad.I] - dated 1-9-2012

2. 29 - dated 12-9-2012

3. 30 - dated 12-9-2012

4. F.No. 405/2/2001-Cus.III - dated 4-9-2012

5. Letter [F. No. 1/1/2003-CL.V (Pt. File)] - dated 30-8-2012

Highlights / Catch Notes

Income Tax

Supreme Court Rules Contingent Deposits Collected for Sales Tax Liability are Taxable Income.

Interest Income on Foreign Currency Deposit: Business Income or Other Sources? Case Sent Back to ITAT for Review.

Assessee companies can maintain consolidated accounts; no unit-wise accounts needed per Sections 80HH and 80I.

Maintaining Parks in Mumbai Deemed Charitable u/s 2(15) of Income Tax Act for Environmental Preservation.

Court Criticizes AO for Ignoring Binding Circular on Film Royalty Expenses, Labels Decision as Speculative and Hyper-Technical.

Court Upholds No TDS Requirement on Travel Agent Commission u/s 40a(ia) of Income Tax Act.

Interest on Income Tax Refund for Permanent Establishment Not Taxable Under Articles 12(5) or 12(2) of India-France DTAA.

Court Remands Case for Further Review on Section 14A Disallowance; Assessee Failed to Provide Necessary Expense Details.

Correction of Business Loss u/s 154: Carry Forward Until 2006-07, Not 2007-08.

Benefit u/s 54F Allowed Despite Uncertainty in Building Condition for Long-Term Capital Gains Exemption.

Capital Gains Tax on Cooperative Housing Society Flat Sale: Cost of Acquisition, Registration Expenses, and Improvement Costs Analyzed.

CIT cannot use Section 263 to force AO to revisit issues not in original order or CIT(A) appeal.

Income Must Be Assessed in the Year Earned, Not Carried to Other Tax Periods, Per Tax Regulations.

Government Company Denied Deduction for Unpaid Loan Interest Due to Non-Payment of Principal and Interest Installments.

Expert Committee Formed to Finalize GAAR Guidelines, Expands Scope for Comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement and Input.

Assessing Business Income: Is the Assessee an "Agent" or an "Arm" of the State for Tax Exemption?

Commissioner Can Revise Faulty Assessment Orders u/s 263 to Protect Revenue Interests.

Rental Income Not Trade/Business Income if Services Provided Are Insignificant and Incidental to Property Use.

Mutuality Principle: Member Welfare Focus Keeps Entity Status Unchanged by Non-Member Income.

Cash Purchases from Arhatiyas Exceeding Rs 20,000 Disallowed u/s 40A(3); Not Agents u/r 6DD(k.

Court Considers Best Judgment Assessment After Rejection of Accounts and Trading Addition Due to Lower G.P. Rate.

Section 80IC Deduction: Allowed for Custom-Specified Manufactured Items with Assembled Components, Including Paints.

Section 54EC Tax Exemption: Fund Tracing Not Required for Asset Purchase Deduction Under Income Tax Act.

Interest on Borrowings for Land Acquisition Non-Deductible Due to Capital Nature Classification.

Dispute on Fair Market Value for Long-Term Capital Gains Settled; Expenses for Cost of Improvement Unsubstantiated.

India-UAE Tax Agreement Under Fire: DRP's Handling Sparks Concerns Over Taxpayer Harassment and Prolonged Litigation.

Customs

Amendment to Notification 94/1996-Customs: Updates on Exemption Criteria for Re-Imported Goods under Export Promotion Schemes.

Amendment to Notification No.12/2012-Cus Proposes Concessional Duty on Gold Findings; Expands Serial No. 282 Item List.

India Extends Anti-Dumping Duty on Chinese Ductile Iron Pipes Until September 2013 Under Notification No. 103/2007-Customs.

Assistant Commissioner Sentenced to 3 Months for Contempt Over Illegible Search, Defying Court Orders in Customs Case.

Conversion of Shipping Bill from DEPB to Duty Drawback Scheme Requires Commissioner of Customs Approval, Not Assistant Commissioner.

Assessee Exempt from Rent or Demurrage Charges for Goods Seized by Officer.

Non-filing of Bill of Entry within 30 Days Not a Contravention u/s 117, Customs Act 1962.

Individuals Seeking Fine Refunds Must Prove Their Case; No Presumption of Financial Burden Transfer Exists.

FEMA

FEMA Circular Simplifies Overseas Direct Investments for Indian Entities, Streamlining Compliance and Boosting Ease of Doing Business Abroad.

Corporate Law

Sections 17, 18, 19, 141, 188 of Companies Act, 1956 delegate powers to Regional Directors for streamlined company management.

Supreme Court allows appeal: Order 2 Rule 2 CPC may impact winding-up proceedings under Companies Act Sections 433, 434, 439.

Indian Laws

Supreme Court Addresses SEBI's Confidentiality Breach and Media Reporting Guidelines on Sub Judice Matters.

Service Tax

Court Rules Furniture Making and Related Activities Not Classified as Interior Decorators for Service Tax Purposes.

Appellant's Non-Registration Under Finance Act Deemed Reasonable; No Section 76 Penalty Imposed Due to Section 80 Leniency.

Extended Service Tax Assessment Period Not Applicable to Agent Due to Bona Fide Doubt from 1997 to 1999 Activities.

CBEC: No Proceedings for Assessees Who Paid Full Service Tax and Interest; Penalties Waived u/ss 76 and 77.

Central Excise

Amendments to Serial Numbers 70 and 71 of Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise Impact Excise Duty Calculations.

Export Units Can Claim SAD Exemption for DTA Goods; Eligibility Tied to State Sales Tax Status.

Rebate Claim Denied Due to Non-Compliance with Input/Output Norms and Incomplete Application Details.

High Court Rules CBEC Clarifications on Excise Duties u/s 37B Are Discretionary, Not Demandable by Petitioners.

TMI Tax Updates - e-Newsletter
September 15, 2012