2023 (1) TMI 68
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... Assessment Year 2018-19. CONTENTIONS AND SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER 2. Learned senior counsel for the Petitioner stated that the Show Cause Notice dated 30th March, 2022 sought to re-open the petitioner's assessment on the ground that the petitioner's return of income did not offer to tax receipts of professional service charges from S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP totalling to Rs.1,92,35,080/-. He stated that the Petitioner vide letter dated 13th April, 2022, furnished a detailed reply wherein it was pointed out that the amount received by it from S.R. Batliboi & Co LLP was not taxable in India by reason of Article 15 of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement ('DTAA') and the said position had been examined and accepted by the ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nt was received, the mode of rendering services (i.e. whether any employee of the assessee visited India for rendering those services and if visited, then what is the aggregate duration of their stay in India) or whether these services were rendered from outside India, remotely or any confirmation letter from SR Batliboi and Associates LLP, etc. 7.7 Hence, unless assessee establishes, with documentary evidences, about nature of services rendered as well as place of rendering said services and that activities of the assessee do not fall under exception clause of the Article 15 of DTAA, prima facie, transaction of assessee with SR Batliboi and Associates LLP for amount of 1,92,35,080 /- is taxable both under the Act and DTAA." 5. Learned s....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....N BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT 8. Per contra, learned senior standing counsel for the Respondent-Revenue, who appeared on advance notice, stated that if the benefit of Article 15 of DTAA is satisfied in a particular assessment year does not mean that the said benefit would be available to the assessee in all subsequent years. He stated that for getting the benefit of Article 15 of DTAA in a particular assessment year, the petitioner would have to satisfy that the services rendered in the said assessment year were similar/identical to the services rendered in the assessment year in which the petitioner was given the benefit of Article 15 of DTAA - which the petitioner had failed to satisfy. COURT'S REASONING WHEN THE ORIGINAL PROCEEDING HAS B....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ard of Direct Taxes spell out the intent of the Legislature, i.e., to minimize the departmental work to scrutinize each and every return and to concentrate on selective scrutiny of returns. These aspects were highlighted by one of us (D. K. Jain J) in Apogee International Limited v. Union of India. 16. It may be noted above that under the first proviso to the newly substituted section 143(1), with effect from June 1, 1999, except as provided in the provision itself, the acknowledgment of the return shall be deemed to be an intimation under section 143(1) where (a) either no sum is payable by the assessee, or (b) no refund is due to him. It is significant that the acknowledgment is not done by any Assessing Officer, but mostly by ministeri....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....a case for the AO to come across some fresh tangible material to form 'reasons to believe' that income has escaped assessment." 12. Consequently, the order passed under Section 143(1) of the Act is not an assessment for the purposes of Section 147 of the Act. Further, it is not necessary in such a case for the Assessing Officer to come across some fresh tangible material to form a belief that income has escaped assessment. PETITIONER DID NOT PLACE ON RECORD ANY DOCUMENTS TO SHOW THAT THE SERVICES RENDERED BY THE PETITIONER DURING ASSESSMENT YEAR 2018-19 WERE IDENTICAL/SIMILAR TO THE SERVICES RENDERED TO M/S BATLIBOI & ASSOCIATES LLP IN THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2019-20. 13. The scrutiny assessment for assessment year 2019-20 also offer....