Supreme Court - Daily Orders
C.I.T.,Guntur vs M/S.Bommidala Enterprises P.Ltd. on 2 September, 2016
Bench: A.K. Sikri, D.Y. Chandrachud
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 8774 OF 2016
(Arising out of SLP (C) No. 13081 of 2014)
COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, GUNTUR ... Appellant
VERSUS
M/S.BOMMIDALA ENTERPRISES PVT. LTD. ... Respondent
O R D E R
Leave granted.
The question of law that was raised by the appellant-Revenue herein before the High Court was as to whether trading activity carried on by the SEZ unit of the respondent-assessee is to be considered as 'service' eligible for exemption under Section 10AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'Act'). It was the submission of the appellant that for this purpose, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal could not have relied upon the definition of 'services' as per SEZ Rules when there is no such provision under Section 10AA of the Act.
A perusal of the order of the High Court shows that this aspect is not considered and brushed aside by merely saying that the Tribunal has held it to be a 'service' and that it is a question of fact. No doubt, insofar as activity Signature Not Verified carried on by the respondent-assessee is concerned, factual Digitally signed by NIDHI AHUJA Date: 2016.09.08 15:41:40 IST Reason: aspects are not in dispute. However, whether that would 1 C.A. No. 8774/ 2016 constitute 'service' within the meaning of Section 10AA of the Act would be a question of law and not a question of fact. The High Court is, therefore, in error in not entertaining the said plea and dismissing the appeal of the Revenue by labelling it as a question of fact. We, accordingly, set aside the order of the High Court and remand the case to the High Court to decide the aforesaid question of law.
Accordingly, the appeal stands disposed of.
........................., J.
[ A.K. SIKRI ] ........................., J.
[ DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD ] New Delhi;
September 02, 2016.
2 C.A. No. 8774/ 2016 ITEM NO.39 COURT NO.11 SECTION IIIA S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 13081/2014 (Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 01/10/2013 in ITA No. 461/2013 passed by the High Court of A.P. at Hyderabad) COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, GUNTUR Petitioner(s) VERSUS M/S.BOMMIDALA ENTERPRISES PVT. LTD. Respondent(s) (With interim relief and office report) Date : 02/09/2016 This petition was called on for hearing today. CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.K. SIKRI HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE D.Y. CHANDRACHUD For Petitioner(s) Mr. Ranjit Kumar, SG.
Ms. Sunita Rani Singh, Adv. Mr. S. A. Haseeb, Adv.
Mrs. Anil Katiyar, Adv.
For Respondent(s) Mr. A. Subba Rao, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R Leave granted.
The appeal stands disposed of in terms of the signed order.
(Nidhi Ahuja) (Tapan Kr. Chakraborty)
Court Master Court Master
[Signed order is placed on the file.] 3