TAXMAN

Vol. 165, Part 4, for the week of December 8 – December 14, 2007

 

CONTENTS

 

statutes

q notifications

Income-tax Act

-   Section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Double taxation agreement - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Foreign Countries - Amendments in DTAA with Government of the United Arab Emirates

Income-tax (Fifteenth Amendment) Rules, 2007

-   Income-tax (Fifteenth Amendment) Rules, 2007 - Insertion of rule 18DE and Form 10CCBBA

Tax Reports

Table of cases

Bharat Nidhi Ltd. v. CIT (Delhi)

CIT v. Hughes Escorts Communications (Delhi)

Hero Exports v. CIT (SC)

Honda Siel Power Products Ltd. v. CIT (SC)

J.K. Industries Ltd. v. UOI (SC)

subject index

Appellate Tribunal

Powers of

-   Assessment year 1991-92 - Whether when prejudice results from an order attributable to Tribunal’s mistake, error or omission, then it is duty of Tribunal to set it right - Held, yes - During relevant year, assessee had taken a term ‘loan’ in foreign exchange for import of machinery - On account of fluctuation in foreign exchange rate, liability of assessee to repay loan in terms of rupees went up - By referring to provisions of section 43A, assessee enhanced figure of WDV of block of assets and claimed depreciation accordingly - Assessing Officer disallowed assessee’s claim of enhanced depreciation - Tribunal held that since there was no actual payment after fluctuation, assessee was not entitled to claim benefit under section 43A - Assessee filed rectification application under section 254(2) stating that in deciding ground against assessee, Tribunal inadvertently had not referred to decision of Samtel Color Ltd. dated 10-12-2001 wherein Tribunal held that enhanced depreciation was allowable even on notional increase in cost of asset on account of fluctuation in exchange rates and despite fact that additional liability resulting from said fluctuation had not been paid by assessee and, therefore, an error apparent from record had crept in Tribunal’s order, and same should be rectified - Tribunal acknowledged its mistake of not considering aforesaid judgment of co-ordinate Bench of Tribunal even when same was cited before it and, accordingly, rectified its order by allowing assessee’s claim - However, High Court set aside Tribunal’s order holding that in guise of rectification, Tribunal had, in fact, reviewed its earlier order which fell outside scope of section 254(2) - Whether High Court was justified in interfering with order of Tribunal passed under section 254(2) - Held, no - Honda Siel Power Products Ltd. v. CIT (SC)

Business expenditure

Allowability of

-   Assessment year 1995-96 - Assessee-company, incorporated with object of setting up satellite business communication systems, placed a purchase order dated 28-7-1994 with a foreign company for purchase of a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) equipment - Assessee claimed that date on which purchase order was placed should be reckoned as date on which its business was set up and expenditure incurred by it after such date could not be capitalized but was to be treated as revenue expenditure - Assessing Officer disallowed assessee’s claim holding that business was said to be set up only in March, 1995 when it completed installation of VSAT after receiving satellite signals therein - There was no question of assessee having to place a purchase order for purpose other than that of its business - In different activities involved in assessee’s business, first step was purchase of VSAT equipment and application to DOT for licence and receipt of satellite signals were consequential stages - Whether business of assessee should be held to have been set up on 28-7-1994 - Held, yes - Whether expenditure incurred by assessee after such date would be deductible as revenue expenditure - Held, yes - CIT v. Hughes Escorts Communications (Delhi)

Companies Act, 1956

Balance-sheet and profit and loss account

Form and contents of

-   Whether Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2006 framed under section 642(1), which adopts Accounting Standards (‘AS’) 22 issued by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, suffers from vice of excessive delegation and same is incongruous/inconsistent with provisions of Act including Schedule VI - Held, no - Whether AS 22 insofar as it relates to deferred taxation is inconsistent with and ultra vires provisions of Companies Act, 1956, Income-tax Act, 1961 and Constitution of India - Held, no - J.K. Industries Ltd. v. UOI (SC)

Companies Act, 1956

-   Section 211

Deductions

Exporters

-   Assessment years 1994-95 to 1997-98 - Assessee was engaged in business of export of trading goods - It earned income from export as well as from export incentives, interest, etc. (other income) for which it had one common pool of expenses - Assessee attributed 10 per cent of other income as expenses incurred for earning said income and reduced same from indirect cost of trading goods - Assessee, thereafter, deducted balance indirect cost as well as direct cost from export income while computing deduction under section 80HHC - Assessing Officer held that full amount of indirect cost would be deductible from export income - Whether Assessing Officer was justified - Held, no - Hero Exports v. CIT (SC)

Income-tax Act, 1961

-   Section 37(1)

-   Section 80HHC

-   Section 140(c)

-   Section 254

Return of income

By whom to be signed

-   Assessee filed its return signed by its secretary, but, on being pointed out by Assessing Officer removed defect and filed a fresh return duly signed by its Managing Director - Assessing Officer while completing assessment, held that original return was invalid - Commissioner (Appeals) held that original return suffered from a curable defect, which was cured by assessee by filing a return duly signed by its MD - Whether since assessee had made an error in nature of a defect which was removed by filing a fresh return signed by its MD, Tribunal was wrong in treating initial return as an invalid return on ground that it had not been signed in accordance with provisions of section 140(c) - Held, yes - Bharat Nidhi Ltd. v. CIT (Delhi)

Words and Phrases

-   ‘indirect cost’ and ‘attributable to exports’ as occurring in section 80HHC of the Income-tax Act, 1961

magazine

case digest/itat

table of cases

RBF Rig Corpn. LIC (RBFRC) v. Asstt. CIT (Delhi - Trib.) (SB)

Subject Index

Income-tax

Perquisite, not provided by monetary payment

-   Assessment year 2004-05 - Whether payment of tax on behalf of employee at option of employer is a non-monetary perquisite fully covered by sub-clause (iv) of clause (2) of section 17 and, thus, exempt under section 10(10CC) and is not liable to be included in total income of employee - Held, yes - Whether taxes paid by employer can be added only once in salary of employee and thereafter, tax on such perquisite is not to be added again - Held, yes - RBF Rig Corpn. LIC (RBFRC) v. Asstt. CIT (Delhi) (SB)

Income-tax Act, 1961

-   Section 10(10CC)