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TMI Blog2012 (9) TMI 215X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -7-2011 - DR. O.K. NARAYANAN AND HARI OM MARATHA, JJ. K.P. Gopalkumar for the Appellant. ORDER Dr. O.K. Narayanan, Vice-President - This is a bunch of five appeals. All the appeals are filed by the Revenue. We are concerned with the assessment years 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. These appeals are directed against the orders of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) at Tiruchirapally dated January 11, 2011 and arise out of the assessment orders passed under section 143(3) read with section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. 2. The assessee in the present case, is running a proprietory business under the name and style of M/s. Royal Telecom Private Exchange. She provides telecommunication services to her ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m or as such she is not operating and maintaining any system independently. He observed that the assessee is running the business as a franchisee of BSNL. Further, the Assessing Officer held that in order to get exemption as provided under section 80-IA, it is necessary for the assessee to obtain licence from the Department of Telecommunication (DOT), Government of India or from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the basis of a written agreement, which the assessee has not obtained. In the above circumstances, the assessing authority held that the assessee is not eligible for deduction provided under section 80-IA(4)( ii ). 6. In the first appeal, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) held that the assessee is provid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on Policy of 1994 amended from time to time. The telecommunication service provider was required to obtain a licence from the Central Government. No one could provide telecommunication services without obtaining the licence from the Central Government. 3. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) erred in treating the assessee which was only a franchisee of BSNL as a telecommunication service provider, even though she did not have any licence from the Central Government. Clause (ii) of sub-section (4) of section 80-IA clearly refers to only such telephone service providers which are engaged in providing basic or cellular services including radio paging, domestic satellite services, network of trunking, broadband and network and internet se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... atute, the provisions cannot be interpreted to confer benefits on the assessee." 9. When these matters were called on for hearing, nobody was present for the respondent-assessee in spite of notice. Shri K. P. Gopakumar, the learned Joint Commissioner of Income-tax, appeared for the Revenue and argued the case at length. We proceed to dispose of these appeals ex parte, qua the assessee. 10. Section 80-IA provides for deduction in respect of profits and gains from industrial undertakings or enterprises engaged in infrastructure development. Therefore, it is very important as mandated by the statute that the assessee who claims deduction should be engaged in infrastructure development. Therefore, the question to be considered is whet ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... status of the assessee is that of an operating agent of BSNL in its commercial functions. 12. Therefore, in the facts and circumstances of the case, we find that the assessing authority has rightly rejected the claim of the assessee for deduction under section 80-IA(4)(ii). The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has allowed the contentions of the assessee not exactly on the basis of the statutory provisions but on the basis of general observations. If the assessee can be given exemption under section 80-IA(4)(ii) as an entrepreneur engaged in infrastructure development, then a person running even a public call office (PCO) should be entitled for the same deduction. This liberal view is far fetched and defeats the intended purpose of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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