TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2016 (12) TMI 881
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....v. Mr. K. V. Mohan, AOR Ms. Prerna Mehta, AOR Mr. Anil Kumar Gautam, AOR Mr. Rustom B. Hathikhanawala, AOR Mr. Mayank Nagi, Adv. Mr./Ms. Husnal Syali, Adv. Mr. Tarun Singh, Adv. Mr. Aditya Raj Singh, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Prit Jha, Adv. CIVIL APPEAL Nos. 8496/2013, 8497/2013, 8502/2013, 8508/2013, 8511/2013, 8512/2013, 8514/2013, 8516/2013, 8517/2013, 8520/2013, 8925/2013, 8926/2013, 8928/2013, 8788/2012, 8790/2012, 8534/2013, 8563/2013, 8564/2013, 8923/2013, 8924/2013, 8930/2013, 8931/2013, 8232/2015, 9253/2015, CIVIL APPEAL No.12253/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 36441/2013), CIVIL APPEAL No.12252/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 36442/2013), CIVIL APPEAL No.12205/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 977/2014), CIVIL APPEAL No.12207/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 2328/2014), CIVIL APPEAL No.12250/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 10261/2014), CIVIL APPEAL No.12254/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 8391/2015), CIVIL APPEAL No.12206/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 13840/2015), CIVIL APPEAL No.12251/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 18157/2015), CIVIL APPEAL No.12208/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 26484/2015), CIVIL APPEAL No.12203/2016 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. ....
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....ject to the provisions of this section, any profits and gains derived by an assessee from an industrial undertaking to which this section applies shall not be included in the total income of the assessee. (2) This section applies to any industrial undertaking which fulfils all the following conditions, namely: - (i) ... (ia) in relation to an undertaking which begins to manufacture or produce any article or thing on or after the 1st day of April, 1995, its exports of such articles or things are not less than seventy-five per cent of the total sales thereof during the previous year; (ii) ... Provided ... (iii) ... (3) The profits and gains referred to in sub-section (1) shall not be included in the total income of the assessee in respect of any ten consecutive assessment years, beginning with the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the industrial undertaking begins to manufacture or produce articles or things. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, in computing the total income of the assessee of the previous year relevant to the assessment year imm....
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....1.4.2001 in the following terms: "10A. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a deduction of such profits and gains as are derived by an undertaking from the export of articles or things or computer software for a period of ten consecutive assessment years beginning with the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the undertaking begins to manufacture or produce such articles or things or computer software, as the case may be, shall be allowed from the total income of the assessee: Provided that where in computing the total income of the undertaking for any assessment year, its profits and gains had not been included by application of the provisions of this section as it stood immediately before its substitution by the Finance Act, 2000, the undertaking shall be entitled to deduction referred to in this sub-section only for the unexpired period of the aforesaid ten consecutive assessment years: Provided further that where an undertaking initially located in any free trade zone or export processing zone is subsequently located in a special economic zone by reason of conversion of such free trade zone or export processing zone into a ....
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....oviso to clause (ix) of sub-section (1) of section 36, as the case may be, shall not apply in relation to any such allowance or deduction; (ii) no loss referred to in sub-section (1) of section 72 or sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) of section 74 in so far as such loss relates to the business of the undertaking, shall be carried forward or set off where such loss relates to any of the relevant assessment years; (iii) no deduction shall be allowed under section 80HH or section 80HHA or section 80-I or section 80-IA or section 80-IB in relation to the profits and gains of the undertaking; and (iv) in computing the depreciation allowance under section 32, the written down value of any asset used for the purposes of the business of the undertaking shall be computed as if the assessee had claimed and been actually allowed the deduction in respect of depreciation for each of the relevant assessment year. (7) The provisions of sub-section (8) and sub-section (10) of section 80-IA shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to the undertaking referred to in this section as they apply for the purposes of the undertaking referred to in section 80-IA." ....
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.... 16.07.2013 as well as Circular No. 01/2013 dated 17.01.2013 which appear to be conflicting and contradictory to each other; in the former Circular the provision, i.e., Section 10A is referred to as providing for deductions whereas the later Circular uses the expression "exemption" while referring to the provisions of Sections 10A and 10B of the Act. Even the Income Tax Return Forms i.e. Form No. 1 dated 17.08.2001 and Form No. 6 for the assessment year 2012-13 are equally contradictory. The appellant Revenue would, however contend that, ex facie, from the language appearing in Section 10A it is crystal clear that the aforesaid provision of the Act, as amended by Finance Act, 2000 provides for deductions from the gross total income, notwithstanding the use of the words 'total income' in Section 10A. Exemptions provided for under the old Section 10A have been discontinued by the Legislature. According to the Revenue, where the purport and effect of the statute is clear from the language used there is no scope to turn to Chapter notes or the marginal notes so as to understand Section 10A to be an exemption section on the basis that the said provision is still included in Chapter III ....
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....t from the assessment year 2001-02 losses and unabsorbed depreciation of eligible units would be allowable for set off immediately on the expiry of the period of tax holiday i.e. 10 years. The provisions of Sections 32, 32A, 33, 35 and part of 36 do not separately apply to an eligible unit during the period of tax holiday. During the said period the deduction under the aforesaid sections of the Act are deemed to have been made. Similarly, under Section 10A(6) (ii) losses referred to in Section 72(1) or 74(1) and 74(3) are also eligible to be carried forward to the assessment year following the end of the holiday period commencing from the assessment year 2001-02. All these, according to the learned counsels for the assessees, suggest that, though heterogeneous elements exist in Section 10A, the provision is really an exemption provision. Alternatively, according to the learned counsels, even if Section 10A is understood to be providing for deductions, the stage of such deductions would be immediately after computation of profits and gains of business and before the aggregate of incomes under different heads of other loss making eligible units or non-eligible units of the assessee a....
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.... and gains from business" in Chapter IV and denied the benefit of deduction. The provisions of Sub-section 6 of Section 10A, as amended by the Finance Act of 2003, granting the benefit of adjustment of losses and unabsorbed depreciation etc. commencing from the year 2001-02 on completion of the period of tax holiday also virtually works as a deduction which has to be worked out at a future point of time, namely, after the expiry of period of tax holiday. The absence of any reference to deduction under Section 10A in Chapter VI of the Act can be understand by acknowledging that any such reference or mention would have been a repetition of what has already been provided in Section 10A. The provisions of Sections 80HHC and 80HHE of the Act providing for somewhat similar deductions would be wholly irrelevant and redundant if deductions under Section 10A were to be made at the stage of operation of Chapter VI of the Act. The retention of the said provisions of the Act i.e. Section 80HHC and 80HHE, despite the amendment of Section 10A, in our view, indicates that some additional benefits to eligible Section 10A units, not contemplated by Sections 80HHC and 80HHE, was intended by the legi....