Tribunal Confirms Section 115JB Inapplicable to Statutory Entity Not Registered Under Companies Act.

The Tribunal upheld the order of the ld. CIT(Appeals), determining that section 115JB was not applicable to the assessee corporation, as it was a statutory entity not registered under the Companies Act, 1956. The Tribunal referenced its previous decision in the assessee's case for earlier years and noted that the amendment to section 115JB by the Finance Act, 2012, applied only from the assessment year 2013-14 onwards. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal, affirming that the assessee's total income should not be assessed under section 115JB.

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Issues:
Applicability of section 115JB - Whether the provisions of section 115JB are applicable to the assessee corporation.

Analysis:
The appeal was filed by the Revenue challenging the order of the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) regarding the applicability of section 115JB. The assessee, a Corporation engaged in manufacturing, declared a loss in the return of income, which was accepted by the Assessing Officer. However, the Assessing Officer determined the deemed total income under section 115JB. The ld. CIT(Appeals) held that section 115JB was not applicable to the assessee based on a Tribunal decision in the assessee's own case for previous assessment years. The Revenue appealed this decision before the Tribunal.

During the hearing, both sides agreed that the solitary issue was covered by a previous decision of the Tribunal in the assessee's case for other years. The Tribunal had previously ruled that section 115JB was not applicable to the assessee as it was a statutory corporation not registered under the Companies Act, 1956. The Tribunal also noted that the amendment to section 115JB introduced by the Finance Act, 2012 was applicable only from assessment year 2013-14 onwards. Additionally, the Tribunal allowed a statutory claim without a revised return if the facts were undisputed and available on record.

Given the similarity of the issue and relevant facts to previous years, the Tribunal upheld the ld. CIT(Appeals) order directing the Assessing Officer not to assess the total income of the assessee under section 115JB. Consequently, the appeal of the Revenue was dismissed, and the decision was pronounced in open court in December 2017.

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