ITO Vs Western Developers Private Limited (ITAT Delhi)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Delhi dismissed the Revenue’s appeal against the order of the Addl./JCIT(Appeals) concerning the applicability of Sections 115BAA and 115JB of the Income Tax Act for AY 2024-25 in the case of . The assessee’s return had originally been processed under Section 143(1), where the CPC disallowed the concessional tax regime claimed under Section 115BAA and computed book profits of Rs.36.67 crore under Section 115JB, resulting in tax demand based on Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).
Before the appellate authority, the assessee argued that it had validly opted for taxation under Section 115BAA by filing Form 10-IC on 02.03.2021 and that the benefit had already been accepted by the department for AYs 2020-21 to 2022-23. The assessee further contended that once Section 115BAA was applicable, Section 115JB relating to MAT could not be invoked because sub-section (5A) of Section 115JB expressly excludes companies opting for Section 115BAA from MAT provisions.
The Addl./JCIT(Appeals) examined the statutory provisions and referred to the amendment introduced through the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019. It was noted that Section 115JB does not apply to domestic companies opting for Section 115BAA and that CBDT Circular No. 29/2019 clarified that MAT credit would not remain available after exercising such option. The appellate authority observed that companies choosing the concessional tax regime under Section 115BAA are excluded from the MAT mechanism under Section 115JB(5A).
