Tribunal Entertains Additional Grounds, Rules in Favor of Bank on Section 115JB

The Commissioner of Income tax Versus M/s. Indian Bank

The Commissioner of Income tax Versus M/s. Indian Bank - TMI Issues Involved:
1. Entertaining additional grounds not adjudicated by CIT(A).
2. Applicability of Section 115JB to the assessee bank.

Entertaining Additional Grounds:
The case involved an appeal filed by the Revenue against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. The Revenue raised concerns regarding the Tribunal's decision to entertain additional grounds that were not adjudicated by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). The Tribunal allowed the raising of additional grounds based on Rule 11 of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Rules, which permits raising additional grounds if beneficial to the assessee. The Tribunal had already considered the same issue in the assessee's own case, leading to the conclusion that the Tribunal was right in allowing the additional grounds.

Applicability of Section 115JB to the Assessee Bank:
The dispute centered around the applicability of Section 115JB of the Income Tax Act to the assessee bank for the assessment year 2002-03. The assessee, a Scheduled Bank under the Banking Regulation Act, filed a return of income declaring a total loss. The Assessing Officer determined book profit under Section 115JB and demanded tax. The issue was whether Section 115JB applied to the assessee bank, with the Tribunal referring to a previous decision in the assessee's own case for the assessment years 2004-05 to 2006-07. The Tribunal held in favor of the assessee, stating that Section 115JB did not apply to the bank. The questions of law related to this issue were answered against the Revenue and in favor of the assessee.

Conclusion:
The High Court dismissed the Tax Case (Appeal), upholding the Tribunal's decision to entertain additional grounds and ruling in favor of the assessee regarding the applicability of Section 115JB to the bank. The other substantial questions of law were given up, resulting in the appeal being dismissed without costs.