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Showing contexts for: Infrastructure Development in M/S Ayyappa Infra Projects Private ... vs Department Of Income Tax on 1 April, 2014Matching Fragments
(a) of clause (1) of sub section (4) of Section 80IA of the Act refer to the enterprise. By reading of the section, it is clears that the enterprises carrying on development of infrastructure development should be owned by the company and not that the infrastructure facility should be owned by a company. The provisions are made applicable to the person to whom such enterprise belongs to is explained in sub clause (a). Therefore, the word "ownership" is attributable only to the enterprise carrying on the business which would mean that only companies are eligible for deduction under section 80IA (4) and not any other person like individual, HUF, Firm etc.
"3. We have heard rival submissions and have carefully perused the entire record. The first issue of the appeal is regarding claim of deduction under section 80IA(4) of the Act. The case of the revenue is that the assessee is a 'works contractor' and not a 'developer' as stipulated under section 80IA(4) of the Act. The section 80IA(4) applies to any enterprise, which carries on the business of (i) developing or (ii) operating and maintaining or (iii) developing, operating and maintaining any infrastructure facilities, which fulfil all the above conditions. There cannot be any question of providing a condition for such an enterprise to start operating and maintaining the infrastructure facility on or after 01.04.1995. From the assessment year 2000-01, deduction is available if the assessee is carrying out the business of any one of the above mentioned three types of activities. When an assessee is only developing an infrastructure facility project and is not maintaining nor operating it, obviously such an assessee will be paid for the cost incurred by it; otherwise, how will the person, who develops the infrastructure facility project, realize its cost? If the infrastructure facility, just after its development, is transferred to the Government, naturally the cost would be paid by the Government. Therefore, merely because the transferee had paid for the development of infrastructure facility carried out by the assessee, it cannot be said that the assessee did not develop the infrastructure facility. If the interpretation done by the Assessing Officer is accepted, no enterprise carrying on the business of only developing he infrastructure facility would be entitled to deduction under section 80IA(4), which is not the intention of the law. An enterprise, who develop the infrastructure facility is not paid by the Government, the entire cost of development would be a loss in the hands of the developer as he is not operating the infrastructure facility. The legislature has provided that the income of the developer of the infrastructure project would be eligible for deduction, it presupposes that there can be income to developer i.e. to the person who is carrying on the activity of only development infrastructure facility. Ostensibly, a developer would have income only if he is paid for the development of infrastructure facility, for the simple reason that he is not having the right/authorization to operate the infrastructure facility and to collect toll there from, has no M/s. Ayappa Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd.
5. We have also taken a similar view in ITA No. 554/Meds/2010 in the case of East Coast Constructions & Industries Ltd v. DCIT vide order dated 13.09.2011 and relevant paras from 9 to 14 are reproduced hereunder:
"9. After considering the rival submissions, we can safely say that the benefit of section 80IA is available only to a 'developer' who carries on business of 'developing of infrastructure facility'. A person who enters into contract with another person for executing 'works contracts' is not eligible for such a benefit. Explanation to section 80IA was inserted by Finance Act, 2007 with retrospective effect from 1.4.2000 which has further been amended by Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 with retrospective effect from 1.4.2000. The amendment in this Explanation was necessitated due to contrary judicial decision on this issue. Thus, we can unequivocally now say that any undertaking or enterprise which executes the infrastructure development project, as referred to in sub- section(4) as a works contract awarded by any person including the Central or State Government, is not eligible for tax benefit u/s 80IA(4). Having said that, now we examine the facts of this case. The assessee company was given this benefit in assessment year 2003-04 by the Department on identical facts after considering the Explanation and amendment thereto. To trace the history of this deduction, we find that originally, in the provision of section 80IA, there was no mention of any development of 'infrastructure facility'. It is only with effect from 1.4.2000, this section was divided into two portions 80IA and 80IB. Section 80IA(4) prescribes about the deduction available to a developer who develops infrastructure facilities. In view of the amendment inserted by the Finance Act, 2007, with retrospective effect from 1.4.2000, the deduction u/s 80IA is available to those assessees who are 'investing and developing infrastructure facility' and not to persons who simply executes 'works- contracts'. Explanation in question, as it stands today, reads as under:
12. Let us remind ourselves that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Bajaj Tempo Ltd vs CIT, 196 ITR 188, has ordained that taxing statute granting incentives for promoting growth and development should be liberally construed.
13. Now, the question arises as to whether the term 'contractor' is not essentially contradictory to the term 'developer'. In fact, in every development the term 'developer' will definitely be a 'works contractor' but every works contractor may not be a 'developer'. A 'developer' is a specific kind of works contractor to be eligible for deduction u/s 80IA(4) who fulfils all the conditions namely, if the assessee develops the infrastructure facility if it operates the infrastructure facility and if it maintains the infrastructure facility or to put it in simpler terms, the harmonious reading of the provisions in its entirety would lead to the conclusion that this deduction is available to an enterprise who - develops or operates and also maintains; or develops, maintains and operates that infrastructure facility. The provision for giving the impugned incentives has been examined, re-examined, modified and amended after giving conscious and deliberate discussions by the concerned law makers. To our great chagrin even after this conscious exercise an entity who executes the works contract entered into between local authority/Central or State Government and makes a development of an infrastructure has not been excluded from the scope of this provision. And rightly so, because what infrastructure is required in public domain is the outlook/duty of a local authority or of a Central/State government. When a certain infrastructure is needed, the concerned authorities have a broader picture in their mind aiming at acquiring certain facility for which infrastructure development is required. So, to say, when any assessee/enterprise agrees under a contract to develop such an infrastructure facility, it cannot straight away be dubbed as not the brainchild of that enterprise, but only of the authority in question. Therefore, again this provision in so far as the conditions required to be fulfilled to be eligible for this incentive had to be provided by the juridical forums dealing with this issue. After in- depth deliberations, discussions and examination of these provisions, finally, it has been resolved that if an enterprise even after entering into a contract with a local authority or the Governments, may be Central or State, in case it constructs the infrastructure facility, operates it and also maintains the same, it would be eligible for this deduction.