Vedanta Ltd. Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal considered the assessee’s appeal against the order dated 12.04.2019 passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax-IX, New Delhi, for Assessment Year 2012-13.
The dispute concerned the assessee’s claim of credit for dividends received from subsidiaries, which resulted in excess Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) being paid by the assessee. The Tribunal clarified that the issue was not one concerning refund of DDT per se. Rather, it concerned refund of the excess credit of dividend tax paid over and above the actual amount payable.
The Tribunal also distinguished the claim from a situation where the assessee sought to claim dividend tax itself as an expenditure. According to the Tribunal, the assessee was seeking refund of the excess dividend tax actually paid after taking into account the dividend received from subsidiaries.
On this basis, the Tribunal directed that the matter be sent to the file of the Assessing Officer to issue the refund in accordance with the provisions of law at the earliest.
The appeal was consequently allowed for statistical purposes. The Tribunal’s order therefore resulted in restoration of the matter to the Assessing Officer for giving effect to the refund direction rather than the Tribunal itself quantifying or directly issuing the refund.
The supplied order does not discuss any judicial precedent. Accordingly, no separate Cases Discussed section is included.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
The aforesaid appeal has been filed by the assessee against the impugned order dated 12.04.2019, passed by Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax-IX, New Delhi for the Assessment Year 2012-13.
2. The issue before us pertains to claim of credit of dividend received from subsidiaries which resulted in refund of excess Divident Distribution Tax (DTT) which was paid by the assessee. We find that this issue is not pertaining to refund of DTT perse but refund of excess credit of dividend tax which is in excess of the actual amount payable. Nor this is not a case of the assessee in claiming the dividend tax as expense but claiming the excess dividend tax paid as refund. Hence, the matter is being sent to the file of the Assessing Officer to issue the refund as per the provision of law at the earliest.
3. In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced in the open Court on 17th November, 2021
