Concessional 25% corporate tax rate turns on verified turnover or gross receipts, not on a missing return column.

A domestic company may claim the concessional 25% tax rate where its turnover or gross receipts in the preceding financial year do not exceed the prescribed threshold. The absence of a specific return-processing column for the turnover figure does not, by itself, justify rejection of the claim. The turnover position should be verified from audited accounts and other relevant material. The issue was therefore restored to the Assessing Officer for verification, and the reduced rate will apply if the threshold is not crossed.

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Issues: Whether the assessee, a domestic company, was entitled to the concessional tax rate of 25% for the relevant assessment year on the basis that its turnover or gross receipts in the preceding financial year did not exceed the prescribed threshold.

Analysis: The applicable tax provision in the Finance Act, 2018 granted a reduced rate of tax to domestic companies whose turnover or gross receipts for the specified previous year did not exceed the stated limit. The dispute arose because the return processing did not contain a specific column for furnishing the relevant turnover figure, while the assessee produced audited financial statements before the Tribunal to support the claim that the threshold was not crossed. In these circumstances, the correct course was to verify the claim from the audited accounts and other necessary material rather than to reject the claim merely on the basis of the return processing data.

Conclusion: The issue was restored to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer for verification, and if the turnover for the relevant financial year is found not to exceed the prescribed limit, the concessional rate of 25% shall apply.

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