LUCAS TVS. LTD. VS COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX.
2001 P T D 502
[239 I T R 534]
[Madras High Court (India)]
Before N. V. Balasubramanian and P. Thangavel, JJ
LUCAS TVS LTD
versus
COMMISSIONER OF INCOME‑TAX
T.C. Nos. 1299 and 1300 of 1987 (References Nos.808 and 809 of 1987), decided on 26/03/1998.
(a) Income‑tax‑‑‑
‑‑‑‑Business expenditure‑‑‑Ceiling on expenditure‑‑‑Company‑‑‑Director who is also an employee and a foreign technician entitled to exemption under S.10(6)(viia)‑‑‑Amount exempt under S.10(6)(viia) is not to be taken into account for fixing ceiling under Ss.40(c) & 40A(5)‑‑‑Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, Ss. 10, 40(c) & 40A(5).
It is not the entire salary or the remuneration or perquisite paid to a foreign technician‑director that would go out of the reckoning for the purpose of determining the ceiling under section 40A(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. It would be restricted to the extent of the amount to which the exemption was granted by the Government of India.
CIT v. Lucas TVS Ltd. (1997) 226 ITR 281 (Mad.) fol.
(b) Income‑tax‑‑‑
‑‑‑‑Export markets development allowance‑‑‑Weighted deduction‑‑ Certification expenses and expenditure incurred by way of warranty claims‑‑ Not entitled to weighted deduction‑‑‑Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, S.35B.
Certification expenses as well as expenses incurred by way of warranty claim do not fall within any of the amended clauses of section 35B of the Act (as amended by the Finance (No.2) Act, 1980), and, therefore, the claim of the assessee for weighted deduction must necessarily fail.
P.P.S. Janarthana Raja for the Assessee.
C.V. Rajan for the Commissioner.
JUDGMENT
N.V. BALASUBRAMANIAN, J.‑‑‑Three common questions of law have been referred to us at the instance of the assessee relating to its two assessment years 1982‑83 and 1983‑84 for our consideration:
"(1) Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in following the earlier order and holding that remuneration paid to Sri J. Wood and K. J. Wells is to be taxed under the provisions of section 40A(5)(b)/40(c) beyond the exempted amount under section 10(6)(viia) of the Income‑tax Act?
(2) Whether the Tribunal was right in holding following the earlier years that exclusion of clause (a) of section 40A(5) is to be confined to the actually exempted amount and not the entire remuneration paid to foreign technicians?
(3) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the assessee is not entitled to weighted deduction under section 35B on certification charges, warranty claims, etc.?"
The assessee is a company engaged in the manufacture of automobile electrical equipments. The first two questions relate to the interpretation of section 40A(5)(b)/40(c) of the Income‑tax Act in relation to the determination of the amount of disallowance to be disallowed under the above‑said provisions. The claim of the assessee was that the entire remuneration paid to its foreign directors and employees should altogether go out of the reckoning to determine the ceiling under section 40A(5) or 40(c) of the Act on the ground that it was an exempted income. The Tribunal, however, has taken a view that the exclusion under the above provision would be confined to the amount actually exempted and not the entire remuneration paid to the foreign technician. The assessee has challenged the above finding of the Appellate Tribunal and; hence, the first two questions of law relate to the extent of exemption available under sections 40A(5) and 40(c) of the Act.
This Court in the case of CIT v. Lucas TVS Ltd. (1997) 226 ITR 281 has taken the view that it cannot be said that the entire salary or the remuneration or perquisite paid to a foreign technician‑director would go out of the reckoning for the purpose of determining the ceiling under section 40A(5) of the Act. This Court in the above decision has taken the view that it would be restricted to the extent of the amount to which the exemption was granted by the Government of India. It is not disputed that the earlier decision of this Court in Lucas TVS Ltd.'s case (1997) 226 ITR 281 would apply to the facts of this case, and following the said decision our answer to the first two questions of law is in the affirmative and against the assessee.
The third question relates to the claim of deduction under section 35B of the Act. The orders of assessment with which we are concerned relate to the assessment years 1982‑83 and 1983‑84. The claim of the assessee under section 35B of the Act was that it incurred certain expenditure for certification of the goods for export and also certain expenditure in respect of warranty claims. The Income‑tax Officer and the first appellate authority rejected the claim of the assessee which was accepted by the Appellate Tribunal. We are of the opinion that the expenditure claimed by the assessee is not covered by the amended, provisions of section 35B of the Act. Section 35B of the Act has been amended by the Finance (No.2) Act, 1980, with effect from April 1, 1981, and under the amended law to the extent the expenses incurred fall under sub‑clauses (i), (iv), (vii) and (ix) of section 35B(1)(b) of the Act they would not qualify for weighted deduction. We are of the view that certification expenses as well as expenses incurred by way of warranty claims do not fall within any of the amended clauses of section 35B of the Act, and, therefore, the claim of the assessee must necessarily fail, as the expenditure incurred or expenses incurred do not fall within the ambit of section 35B of the Act. Accordingly, our answer to this question also is in the affirmative and against the assessee. However, in the circumstances, there will be no order as to costs.
M.B.A./247/FCReference answered.