Syngenta India Private Limited Vs ACIT (ITAT Mumbai)
ITAT Admits Fresh Section 10(1) Claim Because Relevant Facts Were Already on Record; ITAT Remands Seed Business Exemption Claim Because Eligibility Requires Factual Verification; Fresh Tax Exemption Claim Can Be Raised Before ITAT Because Tribunal Has Wide Appellate Powers; DDT Refund Claim Rejected Because DTAA Does Not Apply to Dividend Distribution Tax.
The appeals were filed by the assessee against separate orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)/National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) for Assessment Years (AYs) 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The assessee is engaged in the crop protection business, involving manufacture and formulation of crop protection chemicals, and the seed business involving breeding, multiplication and distribution of hybrid seeds.
The appeals involved multiple issues, including refund of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) paid in excess of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) rates, disallowance of ESOP expenses for AY 2017-18, and an additional ground claiming exemption under Section 10(1) of the Income-tax Act for income derived from the seed business.
Regarding the claim for refund of DDT paid in excess of DTAA rates, the assessee fairly conceded that the issue was covered against it by the Special Bench decision in DCIT vs. Total Oil India (P.) Ltd., which held that a DTAA does not apply when a domestic company pays DDT under Section 115-O. Following that decision, the Tribunal dismissed this ground for all the assessment years.
