2012 (10) TMI 510 - AT - Income Tax

Appeal success for scrap sales income deductions under section 10B

M/s Rieter-LMW Machinery Ltd. Versus The ACIT Company Circle IV(2), Coimbatore

The Tribunal allowed the appeal for the assessment year 2001-02, granting the deduction on the entire income from scrap sales under section 10B. For the ... Deduction u/s 10B – Domestic sale of scrap - Total export turnover was 99.68 % of the total turnover - Domestic sales of scrap was 0.32 % of the total turnover – AO argued that proceeds of scrap sales are not realized in convertible foreign exchange as per Sec. 10(3) – Held that:- The domestic turnover was less than 25 % of the total sales of the assessee and therefore, the conditions of the second proviso to sub- section (1) of section 10B are fully satisfied. Therefore, respectfully following the decision of the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court in the case of Savvy Systems (India) Limited. (2006 (11) TMI 154 - MADRAS HIGH COURT), that assessee entitled for deduction u/s 10B. In favour of assessee Deduction u/s 10B – Sale of scrap - Whether sale proceeds of scrap could be reduced from the eligible profits u/s 10B – AO reduced the receipt from scrap sales from the business profits and treated it as income from other sources - Held that:- As the sale of scrap is part and parcel of the business receipt of the assessee. That being so, it has to be included in the total turnover of the assessee and cannot be reduced from the business profits of the assessee while computing the deduction u/s 10B. Issue in favour of assessee Issues:- Deduction on domestic sale of scrap for assessment years 2001-02 and 2002-03.Assessment Year 2001-02:The primary issue in this assessment year was the denial of deduction to the assessee on the entire domestic sale of scrap. The assessee contended that as per the second proviso to section 10B(1), profits from domestic sales not exceeding 25 percent of total sales should be considered as export profits. The Assessing Officer disagreed, citing that scrap sales were not in convertible foreign exchange. The CIT(A) upheld this decision. However, the assessee relied on a High Court decision to support their claim. The Tribunal, considering the facts that the domestic turnover was less than 25 percent of total sales, allowed the deduction under section 10B for the entire income.Assessment Year 2002-03:In this year, the issue revolved around the disallowance of deduction on scrap sales by the Assessing Officer, as the sale proceeds were not in convertible foreign exchange. The CIT(A) supported this decision. The assessee argued that scrap sales were part of trading receipts and should be included in the total turnover for deduction under section 10B. The Tribunal agreed, emphasizing that since the scrap was generated during manufacturing, it constituted business receipts and should be part of total turnover. The orders of the lower authorities were set aside, directing the Assessing Officer to recompute the deduction by including the sale proceeds of scrap in total turnover and business income.General:Other grounds of appeal, such as sustaining proceedings under section 147 and a general ground, were also addressed. The Tribunal dismissed the first ground due to lack of prosecution and did not separately adjudicate on the general ground. Overall, the appeal for assessment year 2001-02 was allowed, while for assessment year 2002-03, it was partly allowed, specifically regarding the deduction on scrap sales.