LUCAS TVS LIMITED Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO questions out of the three referred to us, namely, whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the surtax payable is not an allowable deduction and whether the Tribunal was right in holding that the interest on belated payment of surtax is not an allowable deduction, it is conceded, stood answered in terms of the judgment of this Court in the case of Sundaram Industries Ltd. vs. CIT (1986) 159 ITR 646 (Mad). The third question, "Whether the Tribunal was right in holding that the weighted deduction under s. 35B of the IT Act, 1961, on inspection agency fee, warrants claim relating to export, interest on export packing credit paid to the SBI are not available ? ", needs, however, determination.

(2.) THE assessee is a private limited company and is engaged in the manufacture of auto electrical equipment. It filed a return for the asst. yr. 1976-77 and besides other claims, made a claim for weighted deduction under s. 35B of the IT Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act"), on items including inspection agency and interest on export banking credit paid to the SBI. In respect of the above, the ITO held against the assessee. THE CIT(A) upheld the ITO's order. THE Tribunal has affirmed the CIT's order and stated regarding the third question that the assessee undertakes to produce, at the hearing of the present reference, the requisite number of certified copies of the Tribunal's statement of the case, dt. 26th Sept., 1981, in R. A. Nos. 35 and 37/ (Mad) of 1981 in ITA Nos. 1564 and 1673/ (Mad) of 1979. We are given to understand that the reasons for rejecting the assessee's claims as respects the inspection agency fee and interest on export packing credit paid to the SBI are stated in the said order and the Tribunal has only adopted the reasonings in the said order by the above statement. THE assessee, however, has not complied with the said direction and we do not have before us the reasons assigned by the Tribunal for rejecting the assessee's claims in respect of the said two items. It is not unusual for any Court or the Tribunal to deliver a considered judgment in one case and, in similar cases coming before it, to make a summary order that for the reasons stated in its order in the other case, it has decided the matter against one or the other party to the proceedings. We, however, cannot approve of the same method being adopted in drawing up the statement of the case, as the statement of the case is one which brings to the notice of the Court the relevant facts and the findings on facts and thus, gives to it a fair idea to know, whether the questions referred to it have actually arisen, whether any reframing of the questions is necessary and whether besides the questions referred to it, there is some other question which ought to be answered. THE Tribunal, in the instant case, has gone beyond the limitations upon its jurisdiction and seriously deflected the course of justice by not making available all the relevant facts in the statement of the case. THE assessee, in any case, has acted in a most irresponsible manner and has not complied with the direction of the Tribunal. It has chosen to leave the Court in the dark. We do not know if it has thought that disclosure of all the facts to the Court shall go against its interest. In any case, one who does not come with clean hands and one who suppresses information and facts, deserves the Court's adverse orders. We, however, do not propose to do so in the instant case, since learned counsel for the parties, in spite of the handicaps, have addressed us at length and given to the Court valuable assistance. We expect, however, that in future the Tribunal, while drawing up the statement of the case, shall take more care to provide to the Court full disclosure of facts. Its not doing so may be taken as an injudicious and irresponsible act.

(3.) THE Gujarat High Court has again taken the same view in the case of Testeels Ltd. vs. CIT (1994) 205 ITR 230 (Guj) as follows :