Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + HC Income Tax - 2013 (6) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2013 (6) TMI 310 - HC - Income TaxMinimum Alternate Tax (MAT) u/s 115JB - interpretation - reduction of exempted income u/s 80-IB from book profit u/s 115JB - held that:- Section 115JB is in the nature of a special provision, a charging provision, and creating liability in respect of an assessee which is a company and whose taxes as determined on the returns filed in the normal manner falls short of the stipulated amount and a charge is created for making the difference, i.e., the object of the legislation is to ensure a minimum tax of seven and half per cent. on the book profit as ascertained under section 115JB is levied and collected from the companies whose payment of tax always without the application of this provision falls short of this amount of tax. There is no scope for interpretation in the present situation, as the provision of the statute should be given effect to, as it occurs and if there is only any ambiguity in understanding the statute then only the tool of interpretation should be called in aid. We do not find any competing or derogatory provision in section 115JB vis-a-vis section 80-IB of the Act is concerned. Section 80-IB operates in a particular sphere and section 115JB is operative in a totally different sphere. It is not the case of the appellant-assessee that section 80-IB is not operated or given effect to. While this is not in any way denied to an assessee, section 115JB is a special charging section for regulating tax liability of companies in general and made applicable in particular and is confined to the assessee-companies whose tax liability, when computed in the normal manner falls short of the liability as computed under this provision. Therefore, we are of the view that there is absolutely no question of section 80-IB having any bearing or effect or control over the provisions of section 115JB of the Act. A budgetary speech while will have some significance for understanding a provision if there is any ambiguity, in the wake of clear language of section 115JB, in the first instance there is no ambiguity, in the second instance, the ambiguity sought to be introduced on certain premise which is not apparent and is only on a limited reading of the budget speech, at any rate a budget speech in itself cannot regulate or control the statutory provision, more so a charging section in a revenue yielding statute, we are of the clear opinion that the provisions of section 115JB should be given full effect to without being influenced or guided or regulated by the budget speech of the Finance Minister. If the argument of Sri Shankar, learned counsel for the appellant, is to be accepted, then it will result in a discrimination against such assessee-companies who have to pay tax under section 115JB of the Act, but have no concession available under section 80-IB, whereas the tax liability of the person under section 115JB of the Act, who can claim concession under section 80-IB of the Act gets reduced for the purpose of section 115JB of the Act. It is, therefore, to avoid section 115JB being rendered discriminatory and unconstitutional being violative of article 14 of the Constitution of India, the contention of Sri Shankar for reading down or reading up the provisions of section 115JB of the Act, particularly by adding to different situations mentioned in the Explanation, to be expanded by including reference to section 80-IB of the Act cannot be accepted. A statutory provision cannot be so read down to render it unconstitutional, but reading down a statutory provision is to make it constitutional and not otherwise. - Decided against the assessee.
|