The assessee company is eligible to claim Foreign Tax Credit...

The assessee company is eligible to claim Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) against its Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) liability u/s 115JB of the Income Tax Act for taxes paid in China on royalty income. As per Article 23(2) of the Indo-China Tax Treaty, India shall allow deduction from the tax on income equal to the income tax paid in China. The scheme of the Act does not differentiate between tax liability calculated u/s 115JB and normal provisions. Since the assessee paid tax on royalty income in India at a higher rate than in China, it is eligible for the entire Tax Credit effected in China as FTC. The assessee is also eligible for FTC in the assessment year 2008-09 even though the corresponding royalty income was offered in the previous assessment year 2007-08, as per the amended provisions of Section 199. The CIT(A)'s direction to restrict MAT credit in subsequent years is unwarranted, as the second proviso to Section 115JAA(2A) is prospectively applicable from 01.04.2018.