Unreported
19 MAT credit : Interest u/s.234B of Income-tax Act, 1961 :
A.Y. 2000-01 : Credit for brought forward MAT is to be given from gross demand
before charging interest u/s.234B.
[CIT v. Apar Industries Ltd. (Bom.), ITA No. 1036 of
2009, dated 6-4-2010]
In an appeal filed by the Revenue for the A.Y. 2000-01, the
following question was raised before the Bombay High Court :
“Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case,
the Tribunal erred in law in holding that credit for brought forward MAT is to
be given from gross demand before charging interest u/s.234B of the Income-tax
Act, 1961 ?”
Following the judgment of the Delhi High Court in CIT v.
Jindal Exports Ltd., 314 ITR 137 (Del.), the Bombay High Court upheld the
decision of the Tribunal and held as under :
“(i) The sum represented by the available MAT credit would
fall within the expression ‘tax . . . . already paid under any provision of
this Act’ in S. 140A(1).
(ii) The expression tax paid ‘otherwise’ in S. 234B(2)
would take within its sweep any tax paid under a provision of the Act,
including the MAT credit.
(iii) The amendment to Explanation (1) of S. 234B by the
Finance Act, 2006 is clarificatory.
(iv) Credit for brought forward MAT is to be given from
gross demand before charging interest u/s.234B.”