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The question which remains to be considered is whether the assessee, which is a MAT company, was not in a position to estimate its profits of the current year prior to the end of the financial year on 31 st March. In this connection the assessee placed reliance on the judgmnent of the Karnataka High Court in the case of Kwality Biscuits Ltd. v. CIT reported in [2000] 243 ITR 519 and, according to the Karnataka High Court, the profits as computed under the Income-tax Act, 1961 had to be prepared and thereafter the book profit as contemplated under section 115J of the Act had to be determined and then, the liability of the assessee to pay tax under section 115J of the Act arose, only if the total income as computed under the provisions of the Act was less than 30 per cent of the book profit. According to the Karnataka High Court, this entire exercise of computing income or the book profits of the company could be done only at the end of the financial year and hence the provisions of sections 207, 208, 209 and 210 (predecessors of sections 234B and 234C) were not applicable until and unless the accounts stood audited and the balance sheet stood prepared, because till then even the assessee may not know whether the provisions of section 115J would be applied or not. The court, therefore, held that the liability would arise only after the profit is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and, therefore, interest under sections 234B and 234C is not leviable in cases where section 115J applied. This view of the Karnataka High Court in Kwality Biscuits Ltd. was not shared by the Gauhati High Court in Assam Bengal Carriers Ltd. v. CIT reported in [1999] 239 ITR 862 and the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Itarsi Oil and Flours (P) Ltd v. CIT reported in [2001] 250 ITR 686 as also by the Bombay High Court in the case of CIT v. Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. reported in [2003] 130 Taxman 730 which decide the issue in favour of the Department and against the assessee. It appears that none of the assesses challenged the decisions of the Gauhati High Court, Madhya Pradesh High Court as well as the Bombay High Court in the Supreme Court. However, it may be noted that the judgment of the Karnataka High Court in Kwality Biscuits Ltd was confined to section 115J of the Act. The order of the Supreme Court dismissing the special leave petition in limine filed by the Department against Kwality Biscuits Ltd. is reported in [2006] 284 ITR 434. Thus, the judgment of the Karnataka High Court in Kwality Biscuits stood affirmed. However, the Karnataka High Court has thereafter in the case of Jindal Thermal Power Co.Ltd. v. Deputy CIT reported in [2006] 154 Taxman 547 distinguished its own decision in the case of Kwality Biscutis Ltd. (supra) and held that section 115JB, with which we are concerned, is a self-contained code pertaining to MAT, which imposed liability for payment of advance tax on MAT companies and, therefore, where such companies defaulted in payment of advance tax in respect of tax payable under section 115JB, it was liable to pay interest under sections 234Band 234C of the Act. Thus, it can be concluded that interest under sections 234B and 234C shall be payable on failure to pay advance tax in respect of tax payable under section 115JA/115JB. For the afore stated reasons, Circular No.13 of 2001 dated November 9, 2001 issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes reported in [2001] 252 ITR (St.) 50 has no application. Moreover, in any event, para 2 of that Circular itself indicates that a large number of companies liable to be taxed under the MAT provisions of section 115JB were not making advance tax payments. In the said circular, it has been clarified that section 115JB is a self-contained code and thus, all companies were liable for payment of advance tax under section 115JB and consequently the provisions of sections 234B and 234C imposing interest on default in payment of advance tax were also applicable.

7.2. A reading of the above exposition makes it clear that as per the Hon'ble Apex Court's exposition interest u/s 234B and 234C of the Act is clearly leviable on assessments on book profit u/s 115JB of the Act as per the clear indentment of the Act. The Hon'ble Apex Court has itself referred to the decision of Hon'ble Karnataka High Court in the case of Kwality Biscuits Ltd. and the subsequent dismissal of Special leave petition by the Hon'ble Apex Court in limine against the above order. The Hon'ble Apex Court had mentioned that the said decision was confined to section 115J of the Act and thereafter in the case of Jindal Thermal Power Co.Ltd. vs DCIT 154 Taxman 547 the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court has itself distinguished its own decision in the case of Kwality Biscuits Ltd. (supra) and held that section 115JB of the Act was a self-contained code pertaining to MAT, which imposed liability for payment of advance tax on MAT companies and therefore where such companies defaulted in payment of advance tax in respect of tax payable u/s 115JB, it was liable to pay interest u/s 234B and 234C of the Act. From the above exposition we find that reference to the Hon'ble Apex Court's decision in the case of Kwality Biscuits Ltd. (supra) does not help the case of the assessee.