Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. vs Commissioner Of Income Tax on 17 August, 2007
87. There is also no merit in the contention of the learned CIT-Departmental Representative that the new unit should also be self-supporting one in the commercial sense. Reference can be made to the judgment of the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court in the case of CIT v. Orient Paper Mills Ltd. , which has been affirmed by the apex Court CIT v. Orient Paper Mills Ltd. . In that case, the assessee set up a unit for manufacture of caustic soda which was an essential chemical for use in the process of manufacture of paper, an existing activity carried on by the assessee. The entire production of caustic soda was consumed by the assessee in the existing process of manufacturing of paper and no part of it was sold. The assessee claimed the deduction under Section 15C of the 1922 Act which was disallowed on the ground that new plant was ancillary to the existing units. The Tribunal allowed the claim of assessee and the High Court as well as the apex Court upheld the view of the Tribunal. This shows that the claim of assessee cannot be disallowed merely on the ground that there is no generation of revenue by the unit itself. The profit can always be computed by attributing the appropriate amount equal to the fair market value of goods or services produced/provided by the new unit. On the contrary, in the present case, there is generation of income which is identifiable with reference to each call made through the earth station. The charge for each call is predetermined and can be quantified. Therefore, this contention of the learned Departmental Representative is rejected.