2023 (8) TMI 887

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....ome Tax Appellate Tribunal "B" Bench Kolkata (the Tribunal) in I.T.A. No. 345/Kol/2019 for the Assessment Year 2012-13. The assessee has raised the following substantial questions of law for consideration :- i) Whether there is any liability to deduct tax at source on payments made to foreign shipping companies and/or their agents who are liable to be assessed under section 172 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ? ii) Whether the Circular No. 723 dated September 19,1995 is binding of the income tax authorities and as such in case of foreign shipping companies and/or their agents, no tax is required to be deducted at source ? iii) Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal can hold that there is lack of examination by the Commissioner of In....

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....f the payees were non-resident companies and no basis has been given for his conclusion. With this finding the learned Tribunal had remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer on the limited issues which have been indicated in paragraph 12 of the impugned order. To examine the correctness of the findings rendered by the learned Tribunal, we have carefully perused the order passed by the CIT(A) dated 6.9.2018. The subject issues have been discussed in ground no. 4. The assessee company paid shipping company charges to the following companies :- Name of the Company Payment made TDS Deduction Transport System Pvt. Ltd. 49313/- Nil MSC Agencies Pvt. Ltd. 53979/- Nil. Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. 274854/- Nil Confreight Shipping ....

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....visions of 195 and 194C of the Act are not applicable in respect of the payments made to Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. or their agent Hanjin Shipping India Pvt. Ltd. Thus, the finding in our view, takes note of the relevant order passed by the DDIT (International Taxation). This finding is duly supported by a note mentioned in the invoice dated 31.05.2012 raised by Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. wherein it has been clearly stated that there is an order under Section 197 of the Act and a request was made not to deduct any tax on the said invoice. Therefore, we find that so far as the payment of shipping charges to Hanjin Shipping India Pvt. Ltd. was rightly construed by the CIT(A) and also that no tax need to be deducted at source. With regard to Maer....