GUJARAT STATE PETRONET LIMITED,GANDHINAGAR V. DCIT, GANDHINAGAR CIRCLE, GANDHINAGAR, GANDHINAGAR

ITA 991/AHD/2025

AI Insights

The case involves Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. appealing against the rectification order of the Assessing Officer (AO) which reduced the set off of MAT credit from Rs.33,21,42,214 to Rs.30,86,81,262 for the Assessment Year 2012-13. The reduction was based on the AO's interpretation following a Delhi ITAT decision, which excluded surcharge and education cess from MAT credit under section 115JAA of the Income Tax Act. The CIT(A) upheld this reduction. However, the Tribunal found this issue to be debatable and ruled that the AO's action to amend the original assessment order under section 154 was beyond jurisdiction, restoring the original MAT credit amount to the assessee.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 712849 (ITAT-AHMEDABAD)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 29-07-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Assessment Year: 2012-2013
• Other Referred Cases: M/s.Richa Global Export Pvt.Ltd. vs. ACIT (CPC), M/s.Steel Strips Wheels Ltd. vs. DCIT (CPC), Bangalore, DCIT Ludhiana vs. M/s.Aarti Steels Ltd.
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: B.P. SRIVASTAVA
• Assessee Lawyers: S.N. SOPARKAR
• Keywords: Set aside; Rectification of order
• Section: 154

Judgement Text

" आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण, अहमदाबाद \u0011ायपीठ “ए“,अहमदाबाद । IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “A” BENCH, AHMEDABAD \u0015ी संजय गग\u001b, \u0011ाियक सद एवं \u0015ीमित अ पूण\u001b गु\"ा, लेखा सद क े सम&। ] ] Before Shri Sanjay Garg, Judicial Member And Smt. Annapurna Gupta, Accountant Member आयकर अपील सं /ITA No.991/Ahd/2025 िनधा \u000fरण वष\u000f /Assessment Year : 2012-13 Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. Wing “A” Plot No.E-18 GSPL Bhavan, GIDC Electronics Estate Nr.K-7, Circle, Sector-26 Gandhinagar – 382 028 (Gujarat) बनाम/ v/s. The DCIT Gandhinagar Circle Gandhinagar \u0013थायी लेखा सं./PAN: AABCG 1812 E (अपीलाथ)/ Appellant) (*+ यथ)/ Respondent) Assessee by : Shri S.N. Soparkar, Sr.Advocate Revenue by : Shri B.P. Srivastava, Sr.DR सुनवाई की तारीख/Date of Hearing : 28/07/2025 घोषणा की तारीख /Date of Pronouncement: 29/07/2025 आदेश/O R D E R Per Sanjay Garg, Judicial Member: The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against the order of the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi [hereinafter referred to as ‘CIT(A)’] dated 03/03/2025 for Assessment Year (AY) 2012-13. Printed from counselvise.com ITA No. 991/Ahd/2025 Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. vs. The DCIT Asst. Year : 2012-13 2 2. Though the assessee has taken various grounds of appeal, however, the only ground pressed/argued by the Ld. Counsel for the appellant was as to whether the Ld.CIT(A) was justified in upholding the rectification order of the Assessing Officer (AO) passed u/s.154 of the Act, whereby, he has reduced the set off of MAT credit from Rs.33,21,42,214/- to Rs.30,86,81,262/- which was earlier allowed to the assessee in the scrutiny assessment order dated 31/03/2015 passed u/s.143(3) of the Act. 2.1. The Ld.AO observed that in view of the decision of the Hon’ble ITAT Delhi Bench of the Tribunal in the case of M/s.Richa Global Export Pvt.Ltd. vs. ACIT (CPC) (2012) in ITA No.2303/Del/2012, dated 31/08/20212, tax credit u/s.115JAA of the Act can be allowed only of income-tax and not of surcharge and education cess. He observed that since surcharge and education cess paid on tax were not included in the MAT credit, hence, the same was not allowable u/s.115JAA of the Act. He, invoking the provisions of section 154 of the Act, amended the order and excluded the claim of credit u/s.115JAA of the Act in respect of surcharge and education cess. The Ld.CIT(A) confirmed the aforesaid reduction of claim by way of rectification order u/s.154 of the Act by the AO. 3. We have heard the rival contentions and gone through the record. The Ld.Counsel of the appellant has submitted that whether the credit of surcharge and education cess can be allowed u/s.154 of the Act was a debatable issue and that it was not a case of mistake apparent from record, therefore, the AO did not have any jurisdiction to reduce the claim of the assessee by invoking the provisions of section 154 of the Act, once the same was allowed in the scrutiny assessment proceedings carried out u/s.143(3) of Printed from counselvise.com ITA No. 991/Ahd/2025 Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. vs. The DCIT Asst. Year : 2012-13 3 the Act. The Ld.Counsel also placed reliance on various case-laws to submit that various Benches of the Tribunal have held that the MAT credit allowable to the assessee u/s.115JAA of the Act is inclusive of surcharge and education cess. The Ld.Counsel, in this respect, has relied on the decision of Co- ordinate Chandigarh Bench of the Tribunal in the case of M/s.Steel Strips Wheels Ltd. vs. DCIT (CPC), Bangalore in ITA No.887/CHD?2019, dated 18/03/2020 (incidentally, adjudicated by both of us) wherein, the Bench while further relying upon the another decision of the Chandigarh Bench of the Tribunal in the case of DCIT Ludhiana vs. M/s.Aarti Steels Ltd. in ITA No.1619/Chd/2017 vide order dated 11/10/2018 has held that the MAT credit allowable to the assessee is inclusive of surcharge and education cess. The Tribunal in the said case has also deliberated on the decision of the ITAT Delhi Bench in the case of ‘M/s.Richa Global Export Pvt.Ltd.’ (supra). 3.1. From the above, it is very much clear that the issue as to whether the MAT credit is inclusive of surcharge and education cess or it is simply restricted to income-tax only, is very much a debatable issue and there are various case-laws, wherein the issue has been decided in favour of assessee holding that the MAT credit u/s.115JAA of the Act is inclusive and surcharge and education cess. Under the circumstances, it was not a case of mistake apparent on record, rather it was a debatable issue and, therefore, the AO was not justified in reducing the MAT credit by invoking the provisions of section 154 of the Act. The action of the AO is beyond his jurisdiction as vested u/s.154 of the Act. Therefore, the impugned orders of the lower authorities are set aside by holding that the lower authorities were not justified in reducing the MAT credit allowed to the assessee u/s.143(3) of the Act by way of invoking the provisions of section 154 of the Act. The MAT credit allowed Printed from counselvise.com ITA No. 991/Ahd/2025 Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. vs. The DCIT Asst. Year : 2012-13 4 to the assessee in the original assessment order passed u/s.143(3) of the Act stands restored. 4. In the result, appeal of the assessee stands allowed. Order pronounced in the Open Court on 29/07/2025. Sd/- Sd/- ( Smt. Annapurna Gupta ) Accountant Member ( Sanjay Garg) Judicial Member अहमदाबाद/Ahmedabad, िदनांक/Dated 29/07/2025 टी.सी.नायर, व.िन.स./T.C. NAIR, Sr. PS आदेश की #ितिलिप अ$ेिषत/Copy of the Order forwarded to : 1. अपीलाथ% / The Appellant 2. #&थ% / The Respondent. 3. संबंिधत आयकर आयु' / Concerned CIT 4. आयकर आयु' ) अपील ( / The CIT(A)- 5. िवभागीय #ितिनिध , अिधकरण अपीलीय आयकर , अहमदाबाद/DR,ITAT, Ahmedabad. 6. गाड\u000f फाईल / Guard file. आदेशानुसार/ BY ORDER, स&ािपत #ित //True Copy// सहायक पंजीकार (Asstt. Registrar) आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण, ITAT, Ahmedabad 1. Date of dictation (dictation pad is attached with file) : 28.7.2025 2. Date on which the typed draft is placed before the Dictating Member. : 28.7.2025 3. Date on which the approved draft comes to the Sr.P.S./P.S : 4. Date on which the fair order is placed before the Dictating Member for pronouncement. : 5. Date on which fair order placed before Other Member : 6. Date on which the fair order comes back to the Sr.P.S./P.S. : 29;7.25 7. Date on which the file goes to the Bench Clerk. : 29.7.25 8. Date on which the file goes to the Head Clerk. : 9. The date on which the file goes to the Assistant Registrar for signature on the order. : 10. Date of Despatch of the Order : Printed from counselvise.com "