IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “A” DELHI BEFORE SHRI CHALLA NAGENDRA PRASAD, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SHRI PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER I.T.A. No.4895/DEL/2019 Assessment Year 2014-15 M/s. BLP Vayu (Project-1) Pvt. Ltd. 14 th Floor, Tower B Vatika Towers DLF Golf Course Road, Suncity Sector-54 Gurgaon Haryana Vs. PCIT Gurgaon. TAN/PAN: AAFCB0591B (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by: Shri Rajiv Jain, CA Respondent by: Shri Kanv Bali, Sr.DR Date of hearing: 16 03 2023 Date of pronouncement: 31 05 2023 O R D E R PER PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, A.M.: T he capt io ned ap pea l has been file d a t the i nst ance of th e assessee ag ai nst t he revisional orde r of the l d. Pr. CIT , G urga on (‘Pr. C IT ’ in sho rt ) dat ed 05. 03. 2019 wher ei n or der p assed b y t he Assessi ng Of ficer (AO ) u nder Secti on 143( 3) of t he I nco me Tax Act , 1961 (t he Act ) dat ed 15. 12. 2016 concerni ng A Y 201 4- 15 was hel d t o be err one ous i n s o f ar a s preju dicial to t he i nterest of t he revenue wit hin t he mea ning of Sect ion 263 of the Act . 2. T he grou nds of appea l ra ised b y the assesse e read as unde r: “ T h a t o n t h e f a c t s a n d c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e c a s e l d P r . C I T , G u r g a o n in h i s o rd e r d a t e d 0 5 .0 3 . 2 0 1 9 p a s s e d u / s . 2 6 3 o f t h e A ct , e r r e d i n s e t t i n g a s i d e t h e o rd e r d a t e d 1 5 . 1 2 .2 0 1 6 f o r A Y 2 0 1 4 - 1 5 p a ss e d b y t h e Id A O , I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 2 W a r d - 1 ( 3 ) , G u rg a o n u / s 1 4 3 ( 3 ) o f t h e A c t , b y h o l d i ng t h a t i n r e s p e c t o f i s s u e o f 5 1 3 9 7 8 sh a r e s @ R s 1 2 8 4 .1 0 p e r s h a r e , f a i lu r e o f t h e l d A O t o e x a m i n e t h e g e n u i n e n e s s o f t h e t r a n s a c t i o n s , c r e d i tw o r t h i n e s s o f t h e p e r so n s f r o m w h i c h s h a r e p r e m i u m w a s r e c e i v e d a n d id e n t i t y , r e n d e r e d t h e a s s e s s m e n t e r r o n e o u s a n d p r e j u d i c i a l t o t h e i n te r e s t o f r e v e n u e a n d f u r t h e r e r r e d i n e x e r c i s i n g t h e p o w e r s u / s . 2 6 3 o f t h e A c t : ( i ) B e c a u s e t h e e n t i r e s h a r e a p p l i c a t i o n m o n e y w a s r e c e i v e d d u r i n g t h e F . Y . 2 0 1 2 -1 3 c o r r e sp o n d i n g t o A . Y . 2 0 1 3 - 1 4 a n d t h e e n t i r e i s s u e i n c l u d i n g sh a r e p r e m i u m w a s e x a m i n e d b y t h e l d A O tw i c e , f i r s t d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f p r o c e e d i n g s f o r A . Y . 2 0 1 3 -1 4 c o n c l u d ed b y o r d e r d a t e d 1 6 . 0 3 .2 0 1 6 p a s s e d u s 1 4 3 ( 3 ) o f t h e A c t a n d t h e n a g ai n d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f a s s e s s m e n t p r o c e e d i n g s f o r A Y 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5 . ( i i ) B e c a u s e p r o v i s i o n s o f s e c t i o n 6 8 o f t h e I n c o m e T a x A c t , 1 9 6 1 c a n b e a p p l i e d o n l y i n t h e y e a r i n w h i c h sh a r e a p p l i c a ti o n m o n e y o r s h a r e p r e m i u m i s r e c e i v e d a n d n o t i n a n y s u b s e q u e n t y e a r .” 3. A s per the grou nds of a ppe al, the assess ee has so ught to chall enge th e ju ri sdi ct ion as sumed by the P r. CIT under Secti on 263 of t he A ct and as a corol lar y s ou ght to i mpugn t he re vis ional order pas sed by t he Pr. CIT u nder Sec tion 263 of the A ct. 4. Br ie fl y s tated, th e assess ee-compa ny is e ngage d i n the bus iness of gen er ati ng and dea l ing i n e lect ric it y and all fo rms of ener gy a nd powe r gene rated by w ind and ot her co nventional a nd non c onvent i ona l method s. T he ret urn file d b y the assessee fo r th e A ssess me nt Yea r 2014- 15 w as s ubj ected to scrutin y assess ment. A n assess ment o rder w as framed under Se ction 143(3) of t he A ct w her ei n the i nc ome o f t he asses s ee retu rned at R s. N il was accept ed b y t he A ssessing O ffic er w ithout an y mo dificati ons. Therea fter, the Pr. CIT in e xe rc ise of his re visi on ar y pow ers iss ue d show ca use not ice dat ed 29. 11. 2018 under Sec t ion 263 of t he A ct re qui ri ng t he ass essee to sh ow cause n ot ice as to wh y the assess me nt so framed u nde r Sec t io n 143(3) w as not mod ifie d/set asi de on the ground that such o rder is err one ous in s o f ar as it is prej udicia l to the inte rest of t he Re venue. The show ca use notice issu ed i n t his regar d is extracted he rein for rea dy re fe rence. I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 3 “ I n t h i s c a s e , t h e a s s e s s e e c o m p a n y h a d f u rn i s h e d it s r e t u r n o f i n c o m e f o r t h e A . Y . 2 0 1 4 - 1 5 o n 3 0 .1 1 . 2 0 1 4 d e c l a r i n g a n i n co m e / l o s s o f R s . N i l . A s s e s s m e n t w a s c o m p l e t e d a c c e p t i n g r e t u r n e d i n c o m e u n d e r s e c t i o n 1 4 3 ( 3 ) o f t h e I . T . A c t , 1 9 6 1 v i d e o r d e r d a t e d 1 5 . 1 2. 2 0 1 6 . 2 . T h e a s s e s s m e n t r e c o r d s o f t h e a f o r e s a i d a s s e s s e e c o m p a n y f o r t h e A . Y . 2 0 1 4 -1 5 w e r e e x a m i n e d . O n p e r u sa l o f t h e a s s e s s m e n t r e c o r d s , i t w a s n o t i c e d t h a t t h e c a s e w a s s e l e c t e d u n d e r s c r u t i n y th r o u g h C AS S w i t h t h e r e a so n s " L a r g e S h a r e p r e m i u m r e c e i v e d d u r i n g t h e y ea r " . D u r i n g t h e y e a r u n d e r c o n s i d e ra t i o n , t h e a s s e s s e e c o m p a n y h a s i s s u e d t o t a l 5 1 3 9 7 8 s h a r e @ R s . 1 2 8 4 . 1 0 / - p e r sh a r e t o v a r i o u s p a r t i e s a g a i n s t t h e f a c e v a l u e o f R s . 1 0 / - e a c h a n d r e c e i v e d s h a r e p re m i u m t o t h e t u n e o f R s . 6 5 , 1 8 ,5 9 ,3 7 0 / - . D u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f a s s e s s m e n t p roc e e d i n g s , t h e A O w a s r e q u i r e d Y o e x a m i n e t h e j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f s h a r e p r e mi u m w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e F M V a n d t h e c r e d i t w o r t h i n e s s o f t h e s u b s c r i b e r t o w h o m t h e s a id s h a r e s h a v e b e e n a l l o t t e d a t a h u g e p r e m i u m . I t i s o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e A O f a i l e d t o e x a m i n e t h e s a m e b u t c o m p l e t e d t h e a s s e s sm e n t , a c c e p t i n g t h e F M V o f s h a r e s a s s u b m i t t e d b y t h e a s s e s s e e . T h e F M V a d o p t e d b y t h e a s s e s s e e a t h u g e p r e m i u m o f R s . 1 2 7 4 .1 0 / - i s a p p a r en t l y o n a h i g h e r s i d e i n v i e w o f t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t o f t h e a s s e s s e e . 3 . F a i l u r e o f t h e A O t o e x a m i n e t h e g e n u i n e n e s s o f t h e t r a n s a c t i o n s, c r e d i t w o r t h i n e s s o f t h e p e r s o n s f r o m w h i c h s h a r e p re m i u m h a s a l l e g e d l y r e c e i v e d a n d t h e i r i d e n t i t y r e n d e r e d t h e a s s e s s m e n t e r r o n e o u s a n d p r e j u d i c i a l t o t h e i n t e r e s t o f t h e r e v e n u e . 4 . Y o u a r e , t h e r e f o r e , p r o v i d e d a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o sh o w c a u s e a s t o w h y t h e a s s e s s m e n t o rd e r p a s s e d b y t h e I T O , W a r d 1 ( 3 ) G urg a o n , d a t e d 1 5 . 1 2 .2 0 1 6 f o r t h e A . Y . 2 0 1 4 -1 5 i n y o u r c a s e s h o u l d n o t b e r e v i s e d u / s . 2 6 3 o f t h e A c t . Y o u a r e r e q u e s t e d t o a t t e n d e d m y o ff i c e o n 1 8 . 1 2 .2 0 1 8 a t 1 0 : 3 0 A M e i t h e r i n p e r s o n o r b y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e d u l y a u t h o r i z e d i n w r i t i n g o n y o u r b e h a l f o r p r o d u c e o r c a u s e t o b e p ro d u c e d a t t h e s a i d t i m e , a n y d o c u m e n t s o r a n y o t h e r e v i d e n c e o n w h i c h y o u r r e l y i n y o u r s u p p o r t . I n c a s e o f n o r e p l y / n o n -a t t e n d a n c e a s p e r a b o v e , i t s h a l l b e a s su m e d th a t y o u r d o n o t w i s h t o s a y a n y t h in g i n t h e m a t t e r a n d t h e m a t t e r w o u l d b e d e c i d e d a s p e r m a t e r i a l a v a i l a b l e o n r e c o rd w i t h o u t a n y f u r t h e r n o t i c e / i n t i m a t i o n t o y o u . Y o u r s f a i t h f u l l y , P r . C o m m i s s i o n e r o f I n c o m e T a x G u r u g ra m 5. A s per the show ca use n otice, on the bas is o f perusal of case reco rds t he P r. CIT obs er ve d that t he assesse e has iss ued 5139 78 sha res @ Rs. 1284. 10 pe r s ha re aga i nst t he face va lue of Rs. 10/ - each an d recei ved a premium to th e tune of Rs. 65.48 cr ore. The I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 4 case w as selecte d for scr utin y for veri ficat io n o f l arge shar e pre mi um recei ve d dur in g t he year. T he A ssessi ng O ffic er however in t he c ourse of t he assess men t has c ompleted the asses s me nt a nd accept ed t he Fa ir Marke t V alue (FMV ) of s ha res su bmi tte d b y the assessee w i thout carryin g out e xami nat i on on jus tific ati on of the sha re pre mi um and also t he creditw ort hi ness of the s ubsc ri be r t o w hom shar es hav e bee n a llotted on such a huge pr emium. A s pe r show cau se not ice, the P r.C IT th us a lle ged t hat t he fai lure of the A ssessi ng O ffic er to ex amine the ge nuineness of t he t ra nsact ion, cred itw orthiness o f the pe rs ons from w hom sh ar e premium h ave been rec ei ve d has ren de red, t he assess me nt e rroneous and prej udicia l to t he i nte rest of the Re ve nue. 6. T he Pr.C IT did not fi nd t he repl y of t he assess ee i n res ponse to the show caus e notice t o b e satis fact ory a nd co ncluded t hat the assess me nt ord er so passed is erroneous and prej udicia l to the inte res t of the Re ven ue on t he grou nd t ha t the A ssess ing O fficer has not pursue d t he inquiries to th ei r log ical e nd resulti ng i n the assess me nt order errone ous an d prej udicial to t he inte res t of the Reven ue. T he P r. CIT acc ord ingly s et asi de t he assess me nt o rde r and directed the A ssessing O ffic er t o pass f res h assess ment o rde r af te r maki ng tho rough an d deta iled inqui ri es o n the pa rt icular issu e of issuance o f sha res a t huge pre mium. 7. A gg rieve d by t he afore sai d a ct ion of t he P r. CIT , the asse ssee is in a ppeal befo re th e T ri bu nal a gi tati ng t he as sumpt ion of supervisor y j uris dic tion us urped by t he Pr. C I T as well conseq uentia l orde r pass ed u nde r Section 263 of the A ct . 8. T he l d. counse l for t he ass essee broadl y re it erated its submiss ions ma de before t he Pr. C IT a nd submitt ed that all I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 5 re le vant fac ts and evi dence s c once rni ng t he issue and allot ment of sha res and pre mi um w e re placed bef ore the A ssessi ng Office r i n purs uance o f in qui ri es carried out unde r Sect ion 142( 1) of t he A ct in the cou rse of a ssess ment. T he ld. counsel pointed out that the assessee co mpa ny had iss ued 51397 8 shares onl y one ent it y and that to o to ‘M/s . BLP Energ y P vt. L td.’ at a premium of Rs. 1284. 10 p er s ha res having regard t o t he audite d f in ancial sta tement for F. Y. 2013 -14. The aforesaid s ubs criber M/s. BLP Energ y Pv t. Lt d. i s 10 0% holding co mpa ny and t he s ha res have not been allot ted t o an y th ir d pa rt y i nvest or. D elineati ng furthe r, the l d. counse l referred t o i ts repl y d ated 01. 02. 20 19 pl aced be for e the P r. CIT and s ub mi tte d that t he sai d amount of invest ment aggrega ting to Rs. 66 crore w as rec ei ved b y t he a ssesse e compa ny in th e p receedi ng Fina nc ial Y ea r, i. e. , F. Y. 2012-13 (A . Y. 2013- 14) i n t he f orm o f share a ppl ica tion mone y an d the sha res h ave been iss ued against such receipts i n the su bsequent ye ar t o the holdi ng c ompan y res ul t in g i n se cur ities premium a mount of Rs. 65, 48,60, 220/ - bei ng acc ounted for its books of ac count. The ld. c ounse l next s ub mi tte d that w hi le the s hare applicat ion mone y w as re cei ved in preceding A sses s ment Yea r 2 013- 14 whic h w as als o subj ect ed to s crut in y ass ess ment unde r Sec ti on 143( 3) of the A ct, the comp lia nce of Section 56( 2)( vi ib) of the Ac t w as also ve ri fied in the A ssess ment Y ea r 2014-15 in ques tion. Spec ific que ries have been raised wi th re ga rd t o the aspects of t he share pre mi um and t he conce rn expresse d in the s how caus e not ice of the P r. CIT is t hus to ta l ly un foun ded. T he ld. co unsel t hus submit ted that the share ap pl ica ti on money w as re cei ved in the precedi ng Assess ment Y ea r 20 13-14 for w hich t he allot ment w as carr ie d out in t he A ssess ment Y ear 20 14-15 i n question and most I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 6 impor ta nt l y, t he s hares w er e a ll ott ed to its 100 % holdin g compa n y and none els e and therefo re, the re was no w a rrant to i nv oke th e deemin g fic ti on of Section 56(2 )(vi i b) in the c on text of the c ase. It w as the reafter sub mi tte d that t he al lotment ha ve b een ca rrie d out in t un e w ith t he valua tion report towa rds calc ul at i on of fai r ma rket val ue of s hares as per Ru le 1 1U A(2)(b) of the Income Ta x Rules. A copy of valua tion report ob ta ined in this r egard w as re fe rre d to and reli ed u pon i n res pect of the c ase so mad e out. The ld. counse l thus submitte d t hat req uisit e in qui ri es we re dil ig entl y carr ie d out b y t he Assessin g O fficer as w a rra nt ed in the facts of the case and t he Pr. CIT , o n the ot her han d, has omitted to take note of the glar in g facts of all ot ment of shares t o i ts holdi ng co mpan y car ryi ng out subs tan tial bu sine ss in energ y s ector. It was thus a ll eged that t he ac tion of the Pr. CIT is pe rfunctor y. Th e l d. counse l th us urged for can ce lla tion of the revisi onal or der and res to ra tion of th e stan ds of t he A ssess in g Officer. 9. T he ld. D R f or t he Reven ue, o n t he other han d, re fe rred t o and rel ie d upon th e r ev is iona l order and sub mi tte d i n f urt he rance that the A ssess ing O ff ice r has f ai led t o discharge its quasi ju di cial functi ons ob liga ted unde r the s tat ute and has per functoril y accept ed t he p osit ion take n b y the asse ssee w itho ut a ny mean in gful inqui ry. T he ld. D R thus supporte d th e acti on of th e Pr. CIT and submi t ted t ha t suc h blatant lack o f inquir y has res ul te d in an er rone ous o rde r causing gra ve prej udice t o t he R eve nu e. It w as submit ted that the ac tion of the Pr. CIT is co vered b y the w ide ampt it ude of the re vis io na l powers. 10. We have ca refull y and d is pass iona te l y co ns idered the ri val submiss ions and p erused the revisio nal order and the assess ment I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 7 order t oget her wi t h other d ocu me nts and ma ter ial place d be for e us and a dverte d t o. The P r. C IT , i n t he i ns tan t cas e, ha s sought to canc el t he ass essment orde r on t he pre text t hat l arge sh ar e pre mi um re cei ved agai ns t all ot me nt of shares have not bee n enquired i nto. 11. T he P r.C IT has con trove rt ed t he prop ri et y of a ssess ment order on the grou nd that re quis ite inqu irie s ha ve not been ca rr ied out w ith re fe re nc e to the rece ipt of huge s hare p remium on all ot ment o f s hares on t he t ouchs tone of Secti on 56(2)(v iib) o f the A ct. The Pr. C IT als o obs erved tha t the Assess ing O fficer has fa il ed t o e xa mi ne the genuin eness of the tr ans acti on of allot ment of s ha res on the touch ston e of Sec tion 68 of t he Act. 11. 1 A s per case rec or ds, it is a n u ndis puted fact t ha t the s hares have been a llott ed at a pre mi um to its 100% hol di ng co mpa ny. Thus, a ppli cabi lit y of Se ct ion on 56( 2)(vii b) has to be seen in th is pe rspect i ve. The Co -ordinate Ben ch of T ribun al i n D CIT vs. O zone Indi a Ltd. in ITA No.2 081/A hd/ 2018 or der dated 13. 04.2021 in the context of Se ct ion 56(2) (vi ib) has anal yz ed th e deemin g p rovisi ons of Secti on 56( 2)(viib) o f the A ct th readbare and i nt er alia obs erve d t ha t t he dee ming cla use re quires t o be gi ve n a sche ma tic int erpreta ti on. T he trans acti on of al lot ment of sha res at a pre mium in the ins ta nt c ase is betw e en holding co mpan y and it is s ubsi di ar y co mpan y and thus w hen see n holis ticall y, t he re is no bene fit de rive d b y the ass essee by is sue of sha res at ce rta in premiu m notwi ths tand in g tha t the share premi u m exce eds a fai r mar ket value in a gi ven cas e. Ins tincti vel y, i t is a trans ac tion betw een th e sel f, i f so to sa y. The t rue pu rpor t of Sect ion 56(2 )(v ii b) w as anal yz ed i n O zone c ase a nd it w as I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 8 obs erve d that t he obj ect iv e behi nd the p rovis i ons of Secti on 56( 2)(vii b) is to p revent unlawf ul g ai ns by is suing co mpan y i n th e ga rb of c apital receipts. In the insta nt ca se, not onl y that the fair ma rket value is suppo rted b y i ndepe ndent value r r epo rt, the all ot ment h as been made to t he e xist ing s hareho ld er holding 100% equi ty an d t he re fore, t he re is no cha nge i n t he interes t or cont rol ove r t he mo ne y b y such i ssuanc e of s ha res. T he objec t of de e mi ng an unjust i fi ed pr emiu m charge d on issue o f sh are as taxable inco me under Se cti on 56 (2)( vi ib) is w hol l y i na pplicable f or trans ac tions b etw een hol di ng a nd i ts subs idia r y c omp any w he re no inco me can be s a id to accr ue to the u lti ma te be ne ficia r y, i. e., holdi ng comp any. T he cha rg eabi li t y of dee me d in come a ris ing fro m transa ctions betw e en hol ding and subs id ia r y or vice versa mi l ita tes agai nst t he s olemn obj ec t of S ect ion 56(2)(vii b) of the A ct. In this bac kdro p, the ex te nt of i nqui ry o n the purpor te d cred ibil it y of pre mi um ch ar ged does not real l y mat ter as no prej udice ca n poss ibl y result fr om t he outc ome of such in qui ry. Thus, t he condi ti on for a ppl ica bi lit y of Secti on 263 for inqui ry into the t ra nsa cti ons betwe en t o in te rw oven holding and subs i diar y co mpany i s of n o consequen ce. We a ls o affi rma tivel y note t he decisi on of SMC B ench in t he case of KB C I ndi a Pvt. Lt d. vs. ITO in ITA N o . 9710/D e l/ 201 9 or der dated 02. 11. 2022 (S MC ) w her e it w as obs erved th at Secti on 56(2)(vii b) cou ld not be appl ied i n th e c as e of t ransac tion betw een h old in g compan y a nd w hol l y ow ne d subsidiar y in t he abse nce o f a ny bene fit occur ri ng to any outs ider. 12. Prelimi nar y enqu ir y, i f u nde rtaken, by Pr. C IT would have thus possi bl y chan ged the disco urs e in the present case. I.T.A. No.4895/Del/2019 9 13. A s rega rds inqui ry o n t he paramete rs of Sec t ion 68 is conce rn ed, it is th e case of the asses see th at t he mone y/credit has been entered i n the books of the assess ee i n preceeding A ssess me nt Y ea r 2013-14 and t he re fore, Sec t ion 68 it self is not appl icable qua AY 2014-15 i n qu est ion. This notw ithst anding, mone y has bee n rec eived from hol di ng co mpa ny ca rr ying subs tantia l bus ines s ac tiviti es a nd getti ng assessed yea r after yea r. O n an e nqu ir y from th e Be nc h, the l d. couns el placed the assess me nt orde r dat ed 30. 12. 20 19 pass ed by th e Assessing O fficer in purs uance of the impug ned revis iona l order a nd submit ted that t he addi ti ons of Rs. 65, 48, 60, 220 /- has been ca rrie d out un der Secti on 56(2) (vi i b) o f t he A ct b y re -d etermi ning the Fai r Ma rket V alue . T he asses see th us cont en ds tha t the Assessi ng O fficer was thus a lso sa tis fie d w ith the pa ra me ters of Section 68 of the A ct t ow ar ds such na ture an d source of su ch cre di ts in the pos t re visional pro ceedings. 14. A rev isi onal a ct i on o f t he P r. CIT in the conte xt of t he facts of the case thus appea rs t o be w hol l y unj us t ified and wi thout meet ing the j uri sdicti ona l requi re me nt of Sect ion 263 of t he A ct. We thus fi nd w holesome me ri t i n the plea o f the assessee f or canc el lati on of the revis iona l order a nd res to ra ti on of t he order of the A ssess ing O f fi cer. We do so acc ord ingly. 15. In the res ul t, the appeal of t he asses see is allow e d. Order pronounced in the open Court on 31/05/2023 Sd/- Sd/- [CHALLA NAGENDRA PRASAD] [PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA] JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER DATED: /05/2023 prabhat