2011 (9) TMI 1066 - AT - Income Tax

ITAT Pune affirms: Excise duty excluded from turnover under section 10B.

The Appellate Tribunal ITAT Pune dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the CIT (A)'s order regarding the treatment of excise duty in the total turnover ... Interpretation of 'total turnover' under section 10B - exclusion of excise duty from turnover for deduction under section 10B - application of precedent and parity of reasoningInterpretation of 'total turnover' under section 10B - exclusion of excise duty from turnover for deduction under section 10B - application of precedent and parity of reasoning - Whether excise duty paid or payable by the assessee forms part of 'total turnover' for computing deduction under section 10B for assessment year 2004-05. - HELD THAT: - The Tribunal noted that the Commissioner (Appeals) had excluded excise duty from the assessee's total turnover for the purpose of section 10B. Revenue's contention that the decision relied upon by the assessee was confined to section 80-HHC and therefore inapplicable to section 10B was considered. The Bench recorded that an identical issue in the assessee's own case for assessment year 2003-04 had been decided against the Revenue by a coordinate Bench (ITA No. 1597/PN/07 dated 31.7.2009). Applying parity of reasoning and following that coordinate Bench decision, the Tribunal affirmed the view that excise duty is not part of total turnover for computing deduction under section 10B in the facts of the present case and rejected the Revenue's ground of appeal. [Paras 3]Order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) excluding excise duty from total turnover for section 10B purposes is affirmed and the Revenue's appeal is dismissed.Final Conclusion: The appeal by the Revenue is dismissed and the CIT(A)'s order excluding excise duty from total turnover for deduction under section 10B for assessment year 2004-05 is affirmed. Issues involved: Appeal by Revenue against CIT (A) order regarding excise duty as part of total turnover u/s 10B for assessment year 2004-05.Summary:The Appellate Tribunal ITAT Pune heard an appeal by the Revenue against the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), Aurangabad dated 03.8.2007, arising from an order by the Assessing Officer u/s 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 2004-05.The main ground of appeal raised by the Revenue was whether the CIT (A) erred in considering excise duty paid/payable by the assessee as not part of the total turnover u/s 10B, citing a decision of the Hon'ble High Court, Bombay, in a different case. The Tribunal noted that a similar issue had been decided against the Revenue in the assessee's case for the previous assessment year 2003-04 by a co-ordinate Bench. After reviewing the previous order and finding the issue to be identical, the Tribunal affirmed the CIT (A)'s order and dismissed the Revenue's appeal.Ultimately, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal of the Revenue, upholding the decision of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) regarding the treatment of excise duty in the total turnover u/s 10B.The decision was pronounced in the open court on September 7th, 2011.