CBDT Circular on Foreign Income Tax Refunds Struck Down for Overstepping Section 119 Powers in FCCB Cases

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....HC invalidated CBDT Circular No. 07/2007's paragraph 9 as ultra vires, ruling it exceeded powers under Section 119. Court found refund applications for excess tax deducted under Section 195 were wrongly rejected on limitation grounds. Following S.A. Builders precedent on commercial expediency, HC determined that borrowings through FCCBs and ECBs used for overseas holding company qualified as debt incurred for earning foreign income. The expenditure met commercial expediency test as investments were motivated by expectation of foreign source income. Court directed refund of excess taxes deposited for FY 2010-11 to 2012-13, rejecting revenue's interpretation of Section 9(1)(v)(b) as unsustainable.....