MEIS and duty drawback is income assessable under the head PGBP

Relevant Text

The issue in the present case is the entitlement for deduction U/s. 80IB(11A) of the Act where the Pr. CIT referred to the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Liberty India vs. CIT (supra) and directed the AO to exclude the export incentives for the purpose of computation of deduction U/s. 80IB(11A) of the Act. As the export incentives cannot be considered as profits derived from industrial activities for the purpose of claiming deduction U/s. 80IB(11A) of the Act, the reliance placed by the Ld. AR in the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Meghalaya Steels Ltd (supra) have merits in the case. Relevant paras 28 & 29 of Meghalaya Steels Ltd (supra) judgment delivered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court is extracted below for reference:

“28. It only remains to consider one further argument by Shri Radhakrishnan. He has argued that as the subsidies that are received by the respondent, would be income from other sources referable to Section 56 of the Income Tax Act, any deduction that is to be made, can only be made from income from other sources and not from profits and gains of business, which is a separate and distinct head as recognised by Section 14 of the Income Tax Act. Shri Radhakrishnan is not correct in his submission that assistance by way of subsidies which are reimbursed on the incurring of costs relatable to a business, are under the head “income from other sources”, which is a residuary head of income that can be availed only if income does not fall under any of the other four heads of income. Section 28(iii)(b) specifically states that income from cash assistance, by whatever name called, received or receivable by any person against exports under any scheme of the Government of India, will be income chargeable to income tax under the head “profits and gains of business or profession”. If cash assistance received or receivable against exports schemes are included as being income under the head “profits and gains of business or profession”, it is obvious that subsidies which go to reimbursement of cost in the production of goods of a particular business would also have to be included under the head “profits and gains of business or profession”, and not under the head “income from other sources”.

29. For the reasons given by us, we are of the view that the Gauhati, Calcutta and Delhi High Courts have correctly construed Sections 80-IB and 80-IC. The Himachal Pradesh High Court, having wrongly interpreted the judgments in Sterling Foods and Liberty India to arrive at the opposite conclusion, is held to be wrongly decided for the reasons given by us hereinabove.”

Therefore, in view of the subsequent decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Meghalaya Steel Ltd (supra), the findings recorded by the authorities below based on the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Liberty India (supra) cannot be held as sustainable as the Hon’ble Supreme Court in para 29 of its decision in Meghalaya Steel Ltd (supra) held that the Hon’ble Himachal Pradesh High Court having wrongly interpreted the judgment in the case of CIT vs. Sterling Foods [1999] 104 Taxman 204 and Liberty India (supra) to arrive at the opposite conclusion has held to be wrongly decided. We are therefore of the considered view that since the Hon’ble Supreme Court has overruled its earlier decision in the case of Liberty India (supra) the decision in the case of Meghalaya Steel Ltd (supra) holds good. Respectfully following the decision of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Meghalaya Steel Ltd (supra), we hold that the export entitlements (MEIS) and the duty drawback of promotion scheme is an income asssessable under the head “profits or gains from business or profession” as per clause (iiib) and (iiid) to section 28 of the IT Act, 1961

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