Hindustan Coals Private Limited Vs National Faceless Assessment Centre (ITAT Mumbai)
ITAT Mumbai held that bitumen, bitumen emulsion, cut back bitumen, modified bitumen produced by the assessee certainly fall in the category of “mineral oil” for the purpose of section 80IB(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Facts-
Assessee company is a joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), India, and Colas SA, France. HPCL during its refining process of crude oil produces various items like Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), petrol, Naphtha, kerosene, diesel, lubricating oil, and fuel oil, and also produces bitumen. The assessee after purchasing bitumen from HPCL produces products viz. bitumen emulsion, cut back bitumen, modified bitumen, etc.
The assessee company by filing a return of income claimed deduction under section 80IB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 qua its plant in Haryana and Tamil Nadu. By declining the contentions raised by the assessee, the Assessing Officer (AO) proceeded to disallow the deductions claimed by the assessee u/s. 80IB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
CIT(A) dismissed the appeals of the assessee. Being aggrieved, the present appeal is preferred.
Conclusion-
The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in case of Niko Resources Ltd. vs. Union of India (2015) 374 ITR 369 (Gujarat) has also dealt with the issue whether natural gas is covered by the term “mineral oil” for the purpose of section 80IB, wherein it is held that the expression “mineral oil” would include and encompass within itself both petroleum products and natural gas
Held that based upon factual, scientific and legal input, we are of the considered view that bitumen, bitumen emulsion, cut back bitumen, modified bitumen produced by the assessee certainly fall in the category of “mineral oil” for the purpose of section 80IB(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
