Year: 2015

Archive for 2015


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DATE: August 20, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 27, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2007-08, 2008-09
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CITATION:
Transfer Pricing: Transactions of providing support services to “Sogo shosha” entities cannot be characterized as trading transaction for purposes of comparison and determining ALP and the cost of sales cannot be included

The activities of purchase and sale i.e. trading involves risk and finance whereas in the activity of support services i.e. intending transactions the assessee has neither to incur any financial obligation nor carries any significant risk. The nature of two activities is absolutely different. The activities of trading i.e. purchase and sale are highly insignificant as compared to activity of support service which constitutes the core business activities of the assessee. The TPO and DRP are wrong in applying the trading margins ignoring the facts of the case that the assessee being a service provider the trading margins cannot be applied. Further, the TPO DRP have gone wrong in including the cost of sales in OP/TC ignoring the fact the value of the sale under no circumstances effects the activities of the assessee company, a service provider. For support services the correct method is the TNMM and the assessee has computed the same on the basis of OP/TC. The OECD guidelines also supports this contention that in TP study business transactions cannot be recharacterized. The support service or intending provided by the assessee company is nothing but a trading facilitation both in form and substance

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DATE: July 1, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 26, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
CBDT Instruction No. 3/2011 dated 9.2.2011 specifying monetary limits for filing appeals by the department applies only to appeals filed after that date and not to pending appeals

The appeals and review petitions preferred by the department before the High Court, were disposed of on the basis of the instructions issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes dated 9.2.2011. It is not a matter of dispute, that all the appeals were preferred prior to 2011, whereas, the instructions dated 9.2.2011 clearly indicate in paragraph 11 thereof, that they shall not govern cases which have been filed before 2011, and that, the same will govern only such cases which are filed after the issuance of the aforesaid instructions dated 9.2.2011. In view of the above, the instant appeals are allowed, the impugned orders passed by the High Court hereby set aside

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DATE: August 10, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 26, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2003-04
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CITATION:
S. 147: Failure by AO to comply with the law in G. K. N. Driveshafts & pass order on objections renders assessment order void; Even a s. 143(1) assessment cannot be reopened in the absence of new/ tangible material

The department’s contention that the judgement in CIT vs. Orient Craft Ltd. (2013) 354 ITR 536 (Del) is contrary to the Full Bench verdict in CIT-VI v. Usha International Ltd. (2012) 348 ITR 485 and the issue should be referred to a larger Bench is not acceptable because the central issue examined in the decision of the Full Bench in Usha International Ltd. was as to what constituted a “change of opinion”. The Court, therefore, does not consider the decision in Orient Craft Ltd. as being contrary to the decision in Usha International Ltd. In other words, there is no occasion for the Court to refer to a larger bench the question of the correctness of the decision in Orient Craft Ltd. which decision squarely applies to the facts of the present case

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DATE: August 18, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 26, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
S. 194C/ 194J TDS: Even if the supply contract is an integral part of a composite contract on single sale responsible basis, there is no obligation to deduct TDS. Service contracts, not being professional services, are not covered by s. 194J

The whole object of introduction of that Section is to deduct tax in respect of payments made for works contract. No division is, therefore, permissible in respect of a contract for supply of materials for carrying out the work. It is in a case of distinct contracts. The contract for supply of material being a separate and distinct contract, no division is permissible under Section 194C of the Act

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DATE: August 10, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 26, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2008-09
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CITATION:
Transfer Pricing: Important law laid down on the principles for identifying comparables for benchmarking an international transaction & determining the ALP in the context of whether KPO services are comparable to BPO services. Law also laid down on whether for TNMM method, broad functionality is sufficient and whether supernormal profits indicate that there is functional dissimilarity

We have reservations as to the Tribunal’s aforesaid view in Maersk Global Centers (India) Pvt. Ltd. (supra). As indicated above, the expression ‘BPO’ and ‘KPO’ are, plainly, understood in the sense that whereas, BPO does not necessarily involve advanced skills and knowledge; KPO, on the other hand, would involve employment of advanced skills and knowledge for providing services. Thus, the expression ‘KPO’ in common parlance is used to indicate an ITeS provider providing a completely different nature of service than any other BPO service provider. A KPO service provider would also be functionally different from other BPO service providers, inasmuch as the responsibilities undertaken, the activities performed, the quality of resources employed would be materially different. In the circumstances, we are unable to agree that broadly ITeS sector can be used for selecting comparables without making a conscious selection as to the quality and nature of the content of services

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DATE: August 19, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 22, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2009-10
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CITATION:
S. 115JB: (i) Even if an amount is credited to the P&L A/c, the assessee can seek exclusion of that amount for purposes of “book profits” if a note to that effect is inserted in the A/cs (ii) The exemption conferred by S. 115JB to sums exempt u/s 10 should be extended to all sums which are not chargeable to tax

The profit arising on transfer of capital asset to its wholly owned Indian subsidiary company is liable to be excluded from the Net profit., i.e., the Net profit disclosed in the Profit and Loss account should be reduced by the amount of profit arising on transfer of capital asset and the amount so arrived at shall be taken as “Net profit as shown in the profit and loss account” for the purpose of computation of book profit under Explanation 1 to sec. 115JB of the Act. Alternatively, since the said profit does not fall under the definition of “income” at all and since it does not enter into the computation provisions at all, there is no question of including the same in the Book Profit as per the scheme of the provisions of sec. 115JB of the Act

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DATE: August 12, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 22, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2004-05
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CITATION:
S. 115JB: Dept’s grievance that if amount is not credited to P&L A/c, accounts are not correctly prepared as per Schedule VI to the Companies Act, 1956 and adjustment to book profits can be made is not acceptable if auditors and ROC have not found fault with A/cs

The Assessing Officer does not have power to embark upon the fresh enquiry with regard to the entries made in the books of accounts of the Company when the accounts of an assessee Company is prepared in terms of Part II Schedule VI of the Companies Act scrutinized and certified by the statutory auditors, approved by the Company in general meeting and thereafter filed before the Registrar of Companies who has a statutory obligation also to examine and be satisfied that the accounts of the company are maintained in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act. If the grievance of the revenue is to be accepted, then the conclusiveness of accounts prepared and audited in terms of Section 115JB of the Companies Act would be set at naught

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DATE: August 14, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 22, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2007-08
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CITATION:
S. 115JB: Amount towards waiver of loan under OTSS, credited to "General Reserves" and not to the P&L Account cannot be added to "book profits"

Assessing Officer has not specified categorically that as to how the Part II & III of Schedule VI has not been followed or is against the prescribed accounting standard there is a requirement of law that waiver of loan taken for utilizing capital expansion is to be routed only through profit and loss account and cannot be credited to the ‘General Reserve’, i.e. directly in the Balance sheet

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DATE: August 11, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 22, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 1990-91
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CITATION:
S. 37(1): Law on when expenditure towards property can be termed as being for protection of the property or for curing a defect and whether that is capital or revenue explained

This payment made by the Appellant in its nature is different from a payment made to protect the property. In fact, Supreme Court in the case of Assam Bengal Cement Co. Ltd. v/s. CIT 27 ITR 34 while laying down the criteria to decide/ determine whether the payment is of capital or revenue nature has observed that the aim and object of the expenditure would determine the character of the payment. In the present facts, as pointed out above, the entire aim and object of the payment was not only that the certainty of acquisition is aborted but enduring benefit as pointed out above is obtained by the Appellant. This would conclusively determine that the payment in this case was capital in nature in the capital field

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DATE: January 22, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 21, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: 2009-10
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CITATION:
Interest on NPAs and Stick Loans, even if accrued as per the mercantile system of accounting, is not taxable as per prudential norms

The assessee herein being a Cooperative Bank also governed by the Reserve Bank of India and thus the directions with regard to the prudential norms issued by the Reserve Bank of India are equally applicable to the Cooperative banks. The provisions of Section 45Q of Reserve Bank of India Act has an overriding effect vis-à-vis income recognition principle under the Companies Act. Hence, Section 45Q of the RBI Act shall have overriding effect over the income recognition principle followed by cooperative banks. Hence, the Assessing Officer has to follow the Reserve Bank of India directions 1998. In UCO Bank the Supreme Court considered the nature of CBDT circular and held that the Board has power, inter alia, to tone down the rigour of the law and ensure a fair enforcement of its provisions, by issuing circular in exercise of its statutory powers under section 119 of act which are binding on the authorities in the administration of the Act, it is a beneficial power given to the Board for proper administration of fiscal law so that undue hardship may not be caused to the assessee and the fiscal laws may be correctly applied