2016 (8) TMI 1494 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal Upheld Reopening of Assessment, Withdrawal of Benefit, Allowed Alternate Deduction Claim

M/s. RR Donnelley India Outsource Pvt. Ltd. Versus Deputy Commissioner Income Tax, Company Circle-V (4) Chennai

The Tribunal upheld the reopening of assessment under section 147 of the Act, resulting in the withdrawal of the benefit of Section 10B. However, the ... Alternate claim of the assessee for granting the benefit of section 10A - CIT-A not allowing the alternate claim of deduction under section 10A when he was of the view that the assessee is not eligible for deduction under section 10B - HELD THAT:- We find merit in the contention of the learned Authorized Representative. On the earlier occasion, this Bench of the Tribunal had upheld the order of the learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) who had allowed the alternate claim of the assessee for granting deduction under section 10A of the Act when it was found that the assessee is not eligible for the benefit of deduction under section 10B of the Act. As relying on VALIANT COMMUNICATIONS LTD. [2013 (1) TMI 734 - DELHI HIGH COURT] and M/S. DATA SOFTWARE RESEARCH COMPANY (P) LTD. [2015 (9) TMI 1282 - ITAT CHENNAI] we hereby remit the matter back to the file of the learned Assessing Officer for considering the alternate claim of the assessee for granting the benefit of section 10A of the Act, if the assessee is found to be eligible for such claim under section 10A of the Act. - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes Issues:1. Reopening of assessment under section 147 of the Act.2. Allowance of alternate claim of deduction under section 10A of the Act.Analysis:Issue 1: Reopening of assessment under section 147 of the ActThe appeal was filed by the assessee against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) confirming the reopening of assessment under section 147 of the Act. The assessee contended that the reopening was barred by limitation and was merely a change of opinion. The assessment was initially completed under section 143(3) determining the income after allowing deduction under section 10B of the Act. However, it was later noticed that the assessee had not obtained Board approval for claiming the deduction under section 10B, leading to the assessment being reopened under section 147 of the Act. The Tribunal upheld the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) in sustaining the reopening, resulting in the withdrawal of the benefit of Section 10B of the Act.Issue 2: Allowance of alternate claim of deduction under section 10A of the ActThe assessee raised an alternate claim for deduction under section 10A of the Act when it was found ineligible for the benefit of Section 10B. The Authorized Representative argued for the consideration of this alternate claim based on previous judicial decisions supporting such claims. The Departmental Representative did not contest this submission. The Tribunal found merit in the contention of the Authorized Representative and referred to previous decisions where alternate claims under section 10A were allowed when the assessee was not eligible for section 10B. Citing relevant case laws, the Tribunal remitted the matter back to the Assessing Officer for considering the alternate claim of the assessee for granting the benefit of section 10A if found eligible. The appeal of the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes based on this analysis.In conclusion, the judgment addressed the issues of reopening the assessment under section 147 of the Act and the allowance of an alternate claim of deduction under section 10A. The Tribunal upheld the reopening of assessment and directed the Assessing Officer to consider the alternate claim for deduction under section 10A, following previous judicial precedents supporting such claims.