Annual election between the Income-tax Act and the applicable...

Annual election between the Income-tax Act and the applicable tax treaty permits an assessee to select the more beneficial regime independently for each assessment year, with no identified bar on changing that option across years. Where treaty treatment under the India-Mauritius DTAA renders capital gains non-taxable in India, earlier short-term capital losses validly carried forward need not be set off against those exempt gains. Those losses may therefore continue to be carried forward. The Revenue's challenge to further carry forward of the losses failed on merits, while the reassessment challenge became infructuous.