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Teletube Electronics Ltd Vs. Commissioner Of Income Tax, Delhi-Vi
October, 19th 2015
$~
*       IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI


                                           Reserved on: 3rd September, 2015
                                           Date of Decision: 24th September, 2015

                                      ITA 38/2002

        TELETUBE ELECTRONICS LTD.                    .....Petitioner
                     Through: Mr. Ajay Vohra, Senior Advocate with
                                Ms. Kavita Jha and Mr. Vaibhav Kulkarni,
                                Advocates.

                                Versus

        COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, DELHI-VI .........Respondent
                    Through: Mr. Raghvendra K. Singh and Mr.Kamal
                    Sawhney, Advocates.

                                         AND

                                      ITA 132/2002

        CIT                                                     ......Petitioner
                                Through: Mr. Raghvendra K. Singh and Mr.Kamal
                                Sawhney, Advocates.

                                Versus

        TELETUBE ELECTRONICS LTD.                  .........Respondent
                     Through: Mr. Ajay Vohra, Senior Advocate with
                     Ms. Kavita Jha and Mr. Vaibhav Kulkarni,
                     Advocates.

        CORAM:
        DR. JUSTICE S. MURALIDHAR
        MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                     Page 1 of 32
                                    JUDGMENT
                                     24.09.2015

Dr. S. Muralidhar, J.
1. These are two appeals under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961
(,,Act) by the Assessee and the Revenue against the impugned common
order dated 28th September 2001 passed by the Income Tax Appellate
Tribunal (,,ITAT) in ITA No. 892/Del/99 for Assessment Year 1994-95.


Questions of law
2. On 25th November 2002 while admitting the appeals, the following
questions of law were framed for consideration:
            "(1) Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case, the
            Tribunal was right in law in holding that lease for a period
            of ten years of plant and machinery along with land and
            building was a capital asset within the meaning of section 2
            (14) of the Act?

            (2) Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case and
            in law, the Tribunal was right in holding that lease of
            facilities i.e. plant and machinery along with and building
            amounted to transfer within the meaning of Section 2(47) of
            the Act?

            (3)Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case and
            in law, the Tribunal was right in holding that transaction of
            lease of facilities was a case of sale of leasehold rights?

            (4) Whether in the facts and circumstances of the case the
            ITAT erred in holding that the transaction tantamounts to
            transaction of lease of land, building thereon and lease of
            plant and machinery and not the sale of plant and machinery
            itself?
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 2 of 32
            (5) Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case, the
            ITAT erred in holding that the transaction is chargeable to
            capital gains under Section 45 but not u/s 50 of the Income
            tax Act?"

Background facts
3. The Assessee Teletube Electronics Ltd. (,,TEL) had two divisions i.e. a
picture tube division situated at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and a glass bulb
division at Bhiwadi, Rajasthan for manufacturing glass shells/bulbs for
domestic use. The said glass bulb division, which had three lines i.e. Line-I,
Line-II and Line-III, became operational during the AY 1984-85. The land
on which the Bhiwadi division was situated, i.e. 496/497 RIICO Industrial
Area, was given on lease to the Assessee by the Rajasthan Industrial
Development and Investment Corporation Limited (RIICO) under a lease
deed dated 24th June 1983.







4. During the relevant AY 1994-95, all three lines of the glass bulb division
were leased by the Assessee to Samcor Glass Limited, Kota (,,SGL), a joint
venture of Samtel India Limited (,,SIL) and Corning Inc. of USA
(,,Corning). SGL was in the process of setting up manufacturing facilities
for "glass panels, funnels and neck" which constitute the basic components
for manufacture of black and white television picture tubes. A lease
agreement was entered into on 24th February 1994 between the Assessee and
the SGL whereby the ,,facilities defined as the "plant and machinery and
land and buildings" of the glass bulb division at Bhiwadi, Rajasthan was
leased to SGL for a period of 10 years with effect from that date.


ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                    Page 3 of 32
5. For the purposes of determining the lease rental to be charged, the
Assessee got the business of the glass bulb division valued by M/s. S.S.
Kothari & Co., Chartered Accountants (CA). They valued the business as a
going concern at Rs.20.72 crores. This formed the basis for fixing the
consideration for the facilities leased out. The lease agreement noted that an
advance of Rs.3.64 crores had already been paid by SGL to the Assessee on
25th January 1993. The balance sum of Rs.17.09 crores was payable in 16
equal half-yearly instalment with add on interest @14% per month. After
accounting for a moratorium of two years, the payment of lease rental was to
commence with effect from 1st April 1996. The payment of interest
however, was to commence from the date of agreement i.e. 24 th February
1994. During the moratorium period, the Assessee was under an obligation
to shift the plant and machinery from Bhiwadi and instal it at the premises of
SGL at Kota. The cost of shifting was to be reimbursed by SGL.


6. Pursuant to the approval of the draft lease agreement by the financial
institutions, Line-II was shifted from Bhiwadi to Kota in April 1993. Lines-I
and III were shifted after July 1994. In the return of income filed on 29 th
November 1994 by the Assessee for AY 1994-95 it disclosed ,,nil income
after adjustment of brought forward business losses and allowances. The
lease rental receipts from SGL were disclosed as revenue receipts. The
Assessee claimed depreciation in respect of the facilities leased out to SGL.

The Assessment Order
7. The case was picked up for scrutiny and various queries were raised by
the Assessing Officer (,,AO). On 13th March 1997, the AO issued a show

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                  Page 4 of 32
cause notice (,,SCN) requiring the Assessee to explain why the lease
agreement should not be treated as a transaction in the nature of sale of the
movable/depreciable assets and capital gain not be charged under Section 45
read with Section 50 of the Act. In respect of the said SCN, the Assessee
replied on 25th March 1997 contending that the lease could not be treated as
,,transfer.


8. By the order dated 27th March 1997, the AO rejected the above plea and
held the lease agreement was in effect a transfer within the meaning of
Section 45 read with Section 2 (47) of the Act. The reasons given in the
order of the AO for the said conclusion were as under:


(i) The definition of ,,transfer in Section 2(47) of the Act was an inclusive
one. On the strength of the decision of the Supreme Court in CIT v. Narang
Dairy Products 219 ITR 478 it was held that the term ,,transfer could not be
restricted to the kinds of transfer enumerated therein and would include
every possible transaction which results in destruction, annihilation,
extinction, termination, cessation or cancellation by satisfaction or otherwise
of all or any of bundle of rights which the Assessee has in capital assets
whether such asset is corporeal or incorporeal. The essence of the lease did
not exclude the contextual or ordinary meaning of the word ,,transfer.


(ii) A survey carried out by the Income Tax Department (ITD) on 28th
January 1997 showed that the Assessee had not parted with possession of
either the land or the building and had only shifted the plant and machinery
(barring a few items) to the plant of SGL at Kota. There was no evidence of
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 5 of 32
any use of the land and building by the SGL. The use by it of the land and
building in Bhiwadi on a few occasions was like the use by any other group
company of SGL. This made it appear that the land and building was in fact
not leased. The survey revealed that a training centre called Samtel Training
Centre was in operation in the premises; the front portion of the factory
building was being used for theoretical as well as practical teaching; the
Administrative Block is converted into a dormitory type accommodation for
the trainees and there was a canteen as well as a volley ball and cricket
ground. The middle and rear portion of the factory building had a lot of old
machinery scrap belonging to SIL, a sister concern of the Assessee. Some
plant and machinery like DG Sets, two Compressors, one Transformer, two
Diesel Tanks and two LPG Tanks still remained in the factory premises.
This made it appear that the premises was still being utilised by the Assessee
and its sister concern for their own purposes.


(iii) SGL was to provide plant and machinery for manufacturing the glass
component and SIL was to provide sealing facility which in the context
could only be plant and machinery. The valuation report of the CA showed
that the residual life of the plant and equipment was not more than 8 to 10
years and, therefore, their useful life would come to an end by 2004 and by
that time the Black & White Television market would also disappear. The
inevitable conclusion was that the sealing facility had been in effect sold for
a handsome payment.


(iv) In respect of the lease agreement, the Assessee had itself applied under
Section 230A of the Act for a ,,no objection certificate (NOC) in
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 6 of 32
anticipation of the transfer of the leasehold rights in respect of the land
which had been leased to the Assessee by RIICO along with the building
and the ownership rights of the plant and machinery. In column 7 (2) of the
application the Assessee had stated that its rights, interests, title in the
property were "proposed to be transferred" and the nature of the rights is
described as the "lease/ownership rights" in the land at Bhiwadi and t he
ownership rights over the plant and machinery. The name of the
transferee/assignee was shown as SGL. Thus even if the transaction was
made to appear as an agreement of a lease, it was indeed a transfer of capital
asset within the meaning of Section 2 (47) read with Section 45 of the Act.


(v) The routine management of the SGL was in the hands of Samtel Group
and the Assessee only had equity participation which had been pledged to
RIICO as an additional security. Given the above relationship between the
TEL and SGL, it was plain that the SGL was also part of the Samtel Group.
From the joint venture (JV) agreement between Corning and SIL,
particularly in view of the ,,non-compete clause, it was plain that the
intention was to get rid of the sealing facility of the Assessee so that the
Assessee could not become a competitor. This was also necessitated since
the black and white television market was in decline and, therefore, the
Assessee ruled itself out from the use of these assets in future. The
conclusion, therefore, was that a transfer had taken place of the plant and
machinery.


(vi) The basis of valuation of the Assessee as a going concern at Rs.20.729
crores was unreliable since despite the Assessee getting substantial lease
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                  Page 7 of 32
rentals in AY 1995-96 and 1996-97 it had been incurring losses. By
resorting to the said device, SGL was shown to be incurring expenditure and
Assessee as earning income which was getting absorbed by its losses and
carried forward losses. Lines-I and II would have completed their life terms
much before the expiry of the lease period and Line-III would have zero life
by 2004. Therefore, in terms of the lease agreement, the assets to be reverted
to the Assessee would only have scrap value. Consequently, the lease was a
transfer attracting capital gains but only in relation to transfer of movable
assets. Thus short term capital gains were attracted under Section 50 of the
Act.

Order of the CIT (A)
9. The appeal filed by the Assessee was dismissed by the CIT (A) by an
order dated 23rd February 1999. The CIT (A) affirmed the factual findings of
the AO and concluded that the fact of the use of the Bhiwadi premises by
other parties; the shifting of Line-II before the date of the lease; the
prohibition on the Appellant carrying on a competing business and other
terms of the lease made the transaction of the lease a colourable device.


10. The CIT (A) too held that the application made by the Assessee under
Section 230A of the Act revealed that the Assessees real intention to treat
the transaction as one of transfer of plant and machinery by way of sale. The
lessee had no use of land and building and whatever use was there was at the
behest of the lessee and its sister concern. In terms of Clause 3.1(c) of the
lease agreement, the lessee had to take prior written consent from the
Assessee for sub-letting or parting with possession of the premises at

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                  Page 8 of 32
Bhiwadi. No such consent had been taken. The questions raised by the AO
remained to be satisfactorily answered and, therefore, it is concluded that
these were "collusive and shady transactions".


11. The CIT (A) also referred to the statements recorded during the course
of the assessment proceedings and the survey in great detail and agreed with
the conclusion reached by the AO that the accounting treatment given by
SGL revealed that it had started treating the plant and machinery as its own.
The total lease value was Rs.20.73 crores and after adjusting the down
payment of Rs.3.46 crores, the lessee was due to pay 14% interest on the
balance of Rs.17.09 crores. The treatment of Rs.20.73 crores was as if it was
due to the lessor in the relevant previous year. This was a case of accrual
during a previous year as per the mercantile method of book keeping.
Therefore, this was a case of a sham transaction entered into between the
lessor and lessee to postpone the liability of taxes. Addition made by the AO
under Section 50 of the Act in the sum of Rs.20,30,61,973 was upheld.

Order of the ITAT
12. The Assessee then filed ITA No. 892/Del/99 before the ITAT. The ITAT
found that there was no material or evidence on the basis of which the
conclusions of the AO could be stated to be justified. The fact that after
expiry of the lease the plant and machinery would have very little value
since the black and white television market was in a decline was not relevant
for coming to the conclusion that there was a sale of plant and machinery. It
was not the case of the Revenue that the plant and machinery would
continue to remain in possession with the lessee since on expiry of the

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                 Page 9 of 32
period of the lease, the lessee was bound to restore it to the lessor. The
Revenue had failed to prove that there was in fact a sale of plant and
machinery. There was nothing in the lease deed to show to the contrary. On
the other hand the lessee was prohibited from assigning any right on the
property to third party and bound to display that the ownership of the plant
machinery was with the lessor. Therefore, the ITAT vacated the finding of
the AO that there was a sale of plant and machinery and held that there was
only a lease thereof.







13. As far as the land and building was concerned, the ITAT observed that
the contents of the lease deed clearly showed that there was a grant of lease
of the land with building thereon as well as the plant and machinery against
huge consideration. The finding of the AO that the Assessee was not
dispossessed of the land and building "was based on suspicion and
conjectures". The AO had not given any concrete material to prove whether
the lease was a sham transaction. Therefore, the conclusion reached by the
ITAT was that there was a package deal for lease of the building and plant
and machinery. It could not be held to be a colourable device as contended
by the Revenue.


14. The ITAT referred to the decisions of the Supreme Court in A.R.
Krishnamurthy v. CIT (1989) 176 ITR 417 (SC) as well as in Palshikhar
HUF v. CIT 172 ITR 311(SC) and held that the transaction of lease would
fall within the general meaning of transfer of a capital asset. Therefore, it
would be futile to examine whether Section 269UA was applicable. The
ITAT held that the Explanation to Section 2(47) could be invoked only
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                 Page 10 of 32
where the transaction did not fall either in the general meaning of the word
'transfer' or within any of the sub-clauses in Section 2 (47) of the Act. The
meaning of transfer in Section 269UA(f) has to be restricted for the purposes
of Chapter XXC. The ITAT also held that merely because the payment of
instalment was shown as lease rental, it could not be said that the
instalments paid did not form part of the price. Once the price of the asset
was fixed it was between the parties to decide about the terms of payments
which unless prohibited in the statute cannot be gone behind.


15. On an examination of the lease deed, the ITAT held that the leasehold
rights in the business assets were sold for Rs.20.729 crore which was
undoubtedly agreed to be paid in instalments with interest @ 14 per cent.
Consequently, Section 45 was applicable. However, it was held that Section
50 is not applicable since the asset itself was not transferred.


16. As regards the land and building, the ITAT held that their ownership
continued to remain with the Assessee. The order of the CIT(A) was
modified and the AO was directed to re-compute the capital gain in
accordance with law. The AO was also directed to re-adjudicate the
consequential issues like depreciation, investment allowance, terminal
allowance, etc. in accordance with law.

ITAT's order on the Assessee's application under Section 254 (2)
17. The Assessee moved an application under Section 254(2) of the Act
before the ITAT praying for some directions to the AO while computing
capital gains as directed in the judgement of the ITAT. In the application,

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                  Page 11 of 32
the Assessee contended that the value of the business was determined by
M/s. S.S. Kothari & Company prior to it being given on lease by the
Assessee and that in adopting the value the fact that the Assessee was also to
go out of business of manufacture of television picture tubes as per the JV
Agreement was duly considered. The loss of earning capacity of the
Assessee was given weightage in determining the value. According to the
Assessee 66.67 % of the value was towards loss of profit earning capacity
and, therefore, to that extent the sale consideration was to be split between
lease consideration for lease of assets and sum received for the Assessee not
indulging in a competing business. A direction was sought to clarify the said
position.

18. In the said application, the Tribunal inter alia ordered as under:
                "4. After considering the submissions of the parties, we find
                substance in the submissions of Id counsel of assessee that
                Tribunal has inherent power to clarify its order, however,
                subject to the condition that it does not affect or alter the
                findings recorded by the Tribunal. We are also in agreement
                with Mr. Sahu that total consideration for sale of leasehold
                business assets has been determined by the Tribunal and,
                therefore, the same cannot be altered by any means. However,
                it is also true that such sale consideration relates to total
                business assets comprising of various assets such as non
                depreciable land, buildings, plant and machinery (etc.). There
                may be different period of holding in respect of such assets and
                different computation will be required for computing capital
                gains. It is, therefore, necessary to apportion the sale
                consideration in respect of various assets which together form
                the leasehold business assets. Therefore, in the interest of
                justice and in order to avoid multiplicity of litigation, the AO is
                directed to bifurcate the sale consideration in respect of
                different categories of assets and then compute the capital gains

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                      Page 12 of 32
                in accordance with the directions given in our order."

Proceedings pursuant to the remand
19. It requires to be noticed that pursuant to the remand of the matter to the
AO by the ITAT by its impugned order dated 28th September 2001, the AO
by an order dated 11th March 2003 re-determined the long term capital gain
at Rs.19,70,66,665 and the short term capital gain at Rs.55,62,066. The
Assessee then took up that order in appeal before the CIT(A). The appeal
was dismissed by the CIT (A) by order dated 10th November 2003. Against
that order the Assessee filed ITA No.59/Del/2004 before the ITAT. By the
order dated 18th August 2004, the appeal of the Assessee was partly allowed
by the ITAT. That order forms subject matter of ITA No.240/2005 in this
Court. Although the said appeal was originally listed together with the
present appeals, it has been directed to be listed separately since the outcome
of the present appeals will determine the fate of the said appeal.

Subsequent developments
20. Mr. Ajay Vohra, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Assessee at
the outset pointed out that an important subsequent development was that
after the 10 year period of the lease agreement dated 24th February 1994
expired, the land and building reverted to the Assessee and was sold by it to
three unrelated parties. The Assessee had sought to bring the above facts on
record by filing CM No.19803/2014. However, the said application was
dismissed by the Court on 4th February, 2015, on the ground that "the facts
urged do not reflect on the merits of the case as they relate to assessment of
later years." Mr. Vohra nevertheless sought to rely on the assessment orders

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                        Page 13 of 32
and orders in appeal pertaining to the subsequent AYs which record the
above transactions.


21. With the leave of the Court, Mr. Vohra placed on record the following
documents:
        i. Copy of the computation of income of the Appellant for the
        previous year ended 31st March, 2005.
        ii. Copy of the assessment order dated 29 th December, 2008 passed
        under Section 143(3) of the Act for the AY 2005-2006, in the case of
        the Appellant.
        iii. Copy of the order dated 29th July, 2011 passed by the CIT(A)
        under Section 143(3) of the Act for the AY 2005-2006 in the case of
        the Appellant.
        iv. Copy of the order dated 30th August, 2011 passed by the CIT(A)
        under Section 143(3) of the Act for the AY 2006-2007 in the case of
        the Petitioner.

Submissions of counsel for the Revenue
22. In the appeal filed by the Revenue, it was submitted by Mr. Raghvendra
Singh, learned Junior Standing Counsel for the Revenue, that the lease
agreement was an exercise in tax -avoidance and, therefore, both the AO and
the CIT(A) rightly held that the real transaction was one of sale of the assets
constituting transfer and attracting capital gains under Section 45 read with
Section 50 of the Act. He submitted that the ITAT ignored the facts revealed
in the survey that was undertaken in the premises of the Assessee on 28th
January 1997. The survey made it plain that only the possession of plant and

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 14 of 32
machinery was given to SGL whereas the land and building were retained
by the Assessee for the purposes of running a training centre. No goods
belonging to the lessee SGL were found in the premises. Further it was
revealed that the Line 2 of the plant and machinery at Bhiwadi had been
shifted from April 1993 itself, i.e. prior to the date of the lease agreement.


23. Mr. Singh further submitted that it is unlikely that there would be a lease
for a value of Rs.20.729 crore which was the entire value of the Assessee as
a going concern if indeed what was being transferred was only the leasehold
rights. Mr. Singh placed considerable reliance upon the application made by
the Assessee under Section 230A of the Act seeking permission for transfer
of the leasehold rights in the land at Bhiwadi together with the building and
plant and machinery. He submitted that had such transaction not amounted
to a transfer, there was no need for the Assessee to have made any such
application in the first place.


24. Mr. Singh submitted that the findings of the ITAT were contradictory as
effectively it made it impossible to tax the amount as short term capital gain
or to tax the lease rentals as income. He submitted that the parties to the
lease agreement had entered into a colourable device by resorting to dubious
methods and subterfuges and that the Assessee could not seek to take shelter
behind a draft agreement not recognised by law.


25. Mr. Singh submitted that there was no answer to the Revenues
contention that the residual value of the plant and machinery after
termination of the lease would be negligible and this when seen in light of
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                     Page 15 of 32
the consideration of the transfer, i.e. Rs.20.729 crore, it was evident that the
intention was to sell the plant and machinery to the lessee. Mr. Singh
referred to the decisions in Vodafone International Holdings BV v. Union
of India (2012) 341 ITR 1 and CIT v. Shivraj Gupta(2015) 372 ITR 337
(Del.).

Submissions of counsel for the Assessee
26. In reply Mr. Vohra submitted that it was not possible to dissect the lease
agreement and hold that while the giving on lease the plant and machinery
was valid, the lease of the land and building was a sham transaction. It is
inconceivable that the mere plant and machinery would be leased for
Rs.20.729 crore. According to Mr. Vohra the terms of the lease agreement
clearly indicated that the lessee had no right to title and interest and the
leased property which had to revert to the lessor at the end of the period of
lease.


27. Mr. Vohra referred to Section 2 (47) (vi) read with Explanation 1 thereto
of the Act which defines 'transfer' and read it along with the definition of
'immovable property' under 269 UA (d) (i) and (ii) of the Act and the word
'transfer' in Section 269 UA (f) (i). He submitted that inasmuch as the lease
was for a period of less than twelve years, there was no 'transfer' of a capital
asset as defined under Section 2 (14) of the Act. Mr. Vohra pointed out that
Section 50B was a special provision for computation of capital gains in case
of a slump sale which is inserted with effect from 1 st April 2000. Under
Section 50B (1) profits or gains arising from a slump sale would be
chargeable to income tax as capital gains arising from the transfer of long

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 16 of 32
term capital assets and which shall be deemed to be the income of the
previous year in which the transfer took place. The proviso stated that where
the undertaking was held to be for not more than 36 months immediately
preceding the date of transfer it would be deemed to be the capital gains
arising from the transfer of short-term capital assets. If it was the case of the
Revenue that there was in fact any such slump sale the treatment itself
would be very different and the question of any disallowance as a revenue
expenditure would not even arise. He pointed out that the Revenue was
unclear whether the transaction was a lease or a sale.


28. Emphasising that the substance of the transaction was only a lease, Mr.
Vohra submitted that the actual terms of the lease deed have to be looked
into to determine what the intention of the parties was. He contrasted the
transaction in the present case with the kind of transaction envisaged by
Explanation 4A to Section 43(1) of the Act which is a sale-cum-lease
transaction. He also referred to the decisions in Commissioner of Income
Tax v. Cosmo Films Ltd. [2011] 12 taxmann.com 217 (Del) and
Commissioner of Income Tax v. George Willamson (Assam) Limited
[2004] 136 Taxmann 52 (Gau.). He submitted that the lease agreement was
not intended as a tax avoidance device. The consideration was fixed on the
basis of the value of the entire going concern because of the opportunity loss
of the lessor.







29. Mr. Vohra distinguished the decisions in Traders and Miners Ltd. v.
CIT (1955) 27 ITR 341 (Patna) and A.R. Krishnamurthy (supra) where the
context was the grant of lease of mining rights and which therefore was of a
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                    Page 17 of 32
very different character. In this context he also referred to the decisions in
Sun Engineering 198 ITR 227 (SC) and R.K. Palshikhar HUF (supra).

Rejoinder submissions of the Revenue
30. In rejoinder Mr. Raghvendra Singh, learned counsel for the Revenue
referred to the decision in Shin Satellite Public Co. Ltd. v. Jain Studios Ltd.
(2006) 2 SCC 628 in support of his submission that the lease of the plant and
machinery was capable of being severed from the lease of the land and
building. He submitted that the consistent position taken by the Revenue
throughout was that the lease of land and building was sham and it was in
fact the Assessee who has, by making an application under Section 230A of
the Act, been taking contradictory stands. He submitted that the fact that the
lessee continued to be possession of the land and building could not be
ignored. The transaction as a whole had to be examined for determining
what in fact was sought to be brought out by the parties. He referred to the
internal evidence rule explained in Goyal Gases (P) Ltd. v. CIT 227 ITR
536 (Del) and submitted that it was open to the Revenue to go behind the
words used in the lease agreement.


31. According to Mr. Singh, the wording of Section 2 (47) (vi) of the Act
was wide enough to include the transaction in question and, therefore, it
amounted to 'transfer' of a capital asset. According to him, Section
269UA(d)(ii) read with Section 269UA(f)(ii) expanded the scope of the
definition rather than narrowing it. He also referred to Sections 105 and 108
of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (,,TP Act).


ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 18 of 32
Is the leasehold right a capital asset under Section 2 (14)?
32. The first issue that is required to be considered is whether the leasehold
rights in the plant and machinery, land and buildings is a 'capital asset'
within the meaning of Section 2 (14) of the Act.


33. Section 2 (14) (a) of the Act defines 'capital asset' to mean "property of
any kind held by an Assessee, whether or not connected with his business or
profession." The exceptions are set out in sub-clauses (i) to (vi). It is not the
case of even the Assessee that the property in question falls within any of
those exceptions. The words "any kind" which follow the word "property' in
Section 2 (47) (a) reflects the legislative intent to bring within its fold even a
lease of immovable property. However, the duration of the lease would be a
critical factor in determining whether the property in question, viz.,
leasehold rights would be a capital asset.


34. For a lease of an immovable property defined as such in Section 105 of
the TP Act to be a capital asset within the meaning of Section 2 (14) (a) of
the Act, the nature of the leasehold right granted to the lessee under the lease
deed will have to be examined. For e.g., the Patna High Court in Traders
and Miners Ltd. (supra) held that lease of land for a period of 99 years was
a transfer of interest in the land and creates a right in rem. It was held that
there is a transfer of interest in favour of the lessee notwithstanding that the
property leased reverts to the lessor. This decision was approved by the
Supreme Court in A.R. Krishnamurthy (supra). The grant of leasehold
rights in a mining lease grants the lessee not only the right to possess and
enjoy the property but also exploit it for the minerals. The lessee in a mining
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                     Page 19 of 32
lease can, therefore, exploit the property and change its essential features
and substratum with the permission of the lessor. This right, which is more
than a mere right to possess a property to the exclusion of everyone else for
a limited period, could partake the character of a capital asset.


35. However, in the present case, where the question arises in the context of
the next question whether the lease deed results in a transfer of a 'capital
asset', the answer will have to be found from a careful reading of the causes
of the lease agreement itself. While de hors the context, it might be possible
in theory for a leasehold right to be construed as a capital asset since the
words used in Section 2 (14) (a) are indeed of a wide amplitude, in the
context of the present case, where under the lease agreement dated 24th
February 1994 what is given to SGL is a limited right to hold and possess
the facilities leased to it for a limited period of ten years, with further
restriction on sub-letting it or transferring any right or interest therein to
anyone without the permission of the lessor and with the lease agreement
making it explicit that at the end of the lease period the facilities leased it
SGL would revert to the Assessee, it is difficult to hold that the leasehold
rights given to the Assessee under the lease agreement is a 'capital asset'.


36. Consequently, question (1) is answered by holding that the leasehold
right, given to SGL for a period of ten years, of the plant and machinery
along with land and building, is not a 'capital asset' within the meaning of
Section 2 (14) (a) of the Act.




ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                    Page 20 of 32
Was there a 'transfer' of a capital asset?
37. Assuming that that the leasehold rights under the lease agreement dated
24th February 1994 is a capital asset, the next question, which is by far the
most crucial as far as the present appeals are concerned, is whether in the
facts and circumstances the lease of the plant and machinery along with the
land and building would amount to a 'transfer in relation to a capital asset'
within the meaning of Section 2 (47) of the Act?


38. Section 2 (47) (vi) of the Act defines transfer to mean any transaction,
whether "by way of any agreement or any arrangement or in any other
manner whatsoever", which has the effect of "transferring, or enabling the
enjoyment of, any immovable property." Explanation 1 to Section 2 (47)
states that for the purposes of sub-clause (vi), "immovable property" shall
have the same meaning as in clause (d) of Section 269UA. This insertion is
given retrospective effect from 1st April, 1962.


39. Section 269UA (d) has, therefore, been incorporated by reference into
Section 2 (47) (vi). It defines "immovable property" to mean:
                "269UA.
                (d) "immovable property" means-

                (i) any land or any building or part of a building, and includes,
                where any land or any building or part of a building is to be
                transferred together with any machinery, plant, furniture,
                fittings or other things, such machinery, plant, furniture, fittings
                or other things also.

                Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub- clause," land,
                building, part of a building, machinery, plant, furniture, fittings

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                       Page 21 of 32
                and other things" include any rights therein;

                (ii) any rights in or with respect to any land or any building or a
                part of a building (whether or not including any machinery,
                plant, furniture, fittings or other things, therein) which has been
                constructed or which is to be constructed, accruing or arising
                from any transaction (whether by way of becoming a member
                of, or acquiring shares in, a co- operative society, company or
                other association of persons or by way of any agreement or any
                arrangement of whatever nature), not being a transaction by
                way of sale, exchange or lease of such land, building or part
                of a building;" (emphasis supplied)

40. The combined reading of both the above sub-clauses makes it clear that
the kind of right which is transferred under the lease agreement in question
viz., leasehold right, can be relatable to sub-clause (i) of Section 269 UA (d)
and not sub-clause (ii). That is not the end of the matter. The word 'transfer'
for the purposes of Section 269UA (d) (i) has been defined under Section
269UA(f)(i) which states that:
                "269UA.
                (f) "transfer"

                (i) in relation to any immovable property referred to in sub-
                clause (i) of clause (d), means transfer of such property by way
                of sale or exchange or lease for a term of not less than twelve
                years, and includes allowing the possession of such property to
                be taken or retained in part performance of a contract of the
                nature referred to in section 53A of the Transfer of Property
                Act, 1882 (4 of 1882).
                Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-clause, a lease
                which provides for the extension of the term thereof by a
                further term or terms shall be deemed to be a lease for a term of
                not less than twelve years, if the aggregate of the term for
                which such lease is to be granted and the further term or terms
                for which it can be so extended is not less than twelve years;"
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                      Page 22 of 32
                (emphasis supplied)

41. The case of the Assessee is that by virtue of Explanation (1) to Section 2
(47), Section 269UA (d) (i) is attracted. Section 269UA(f)(i) describes
'transfer' for the purposes of Section 269 UA (d) (i) to mean the transfer of
property, including by way of lease, "for a term not less than twelve years."
Therefore, in the present case the Assessee is right in contending that since
the lease is for a period of ten years, there is no 'transfer' of a capital asset
within the meaning of Section 2 (47) (vi) of the Act read with Explanation 1
thereto.


42. The ITAT rejected the above contention since according to it the
transaction of lease fell within the general meaning of 'transfer'. According
to the ITAT Explanation 1 could be invoked only where the transaction did
not fall under the general meaning of the word ,,transfer or the items listed
at sub-clauses (i) to (v). It further pointed out that while the legislature had
incorporated Section 269UA(d) "it would be illegal to further incorporate
the meaning of the words 'transfer' as defined in Section 269UA(f)." It was
held that the meaning of transfer in Section 269UA(f) had to be restricted
only for the purposes of Chapter XXC.

43. The Court is unable to agree with the above approach of the ITAT to
interpreting what appear to be plain and unambiguous provisions of the Act.
It is useful to recall that this entire discussion is in the backdrop of what
constitutes ,,transfer in relation to a capital asset. Further, the entire exercise
is for ultimately determining if there has been any capital gains arising from

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                      Page 23 of 32
the transaction. Under Section 45(1) 'capital gains' are any profits or gains
arising from the transfer of a capital asset effected in the previous year.
When the word ,,transfer itself has been defined under Section 2(47) (vi)
and by virtue of Explanation 1 "shall" have the same meaning as Section
269UA(d) then it is not possible to 'restrict' Explanation 1 to only those
transactions described in Chapter XXC. Explanation 1 is a deeming fiction
and incorporates by way of reference the provisions of Section 269 UA (d)
in order to understand the meaning of the word 'transfer' for the purposes of
Section 2 (47) (vi). Therefore, that entire scheme has to be given effect to.
In other words, it is not possible to omit the reference to Section 269UA(d)
(i) which in turn brings in Section 269UA(f) (i). The ITAT has therefore
erred in conveniently choosing to not apply the Explanation 1 to Section 2
(47) in order to arrive at the conclusion there was indeed a 'transfer' of a
capital asset brought about by the lease agreement in question.


44. The AO, the CIT (A) and the ITAT have relied on the decisions in
Traders and Miners Ltd. (supra), A.R. Krishnamurthy (supra) and CIT v.
Narang Diary Products (1996) 219 ITR 478 (SC). Reference has also been
made to Section 2 (47) (ii) which talks of the "extinguishment of rights".


45. If the lease agreement dated 24th February 1994 is read carefully it is
clear that no proprietary right is created in favour of SGL thereunder.
Clause 3.1(c) which provides that the lessee, i.e. SGL, during the term of the
lease shall not assign, sublet or part with possession of the facilities or any
part thereof without the written consent of the lessor. Clause 3.1(n) prohibits
the lessee from transferring or assigning or otherwise disposing of its rights
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 24 of 32
and obligations whether by way of mortgage, charge, sub-lease, sale or
assignment. Clause 3.1(i) states that the lessee would not claim any right,
title or interest over the facilities other than the rights granted by the lessor.







46. The decisions relied upon by the ITAT pertained to mining leases which
stand on an entirely different footing. In Traders and Miners Ltd. (supra),
the lease was for 99 years. The subject matter of the lease was not merely
the right to hold the land but also exploit the valuable interest in the land, i.e.
right to extract minerals therefrom. The consideration for the lease was the
combination of a salami and a yearly reserve rent. Capital gain was charged
with reference to the salami and not the yearly reserve rent.

47. In A.R. Krishnamurthy (supra) the mining rights were leased for a
period of ten years. The consideration was a premium of Rs. 5 lakhs plus a
royalty of Rs.12 per sq. cubic ft of clay extracted subject to a minimum of
Rs. 60,000 per year. Interestingly, the fact that there was a transfer of a
capital asset was not contested by the Assessee in that case. The right
transferred by the lease deed was the right to exploit the land and extract the
clay which flowed from the ownership of the land. This was therefore more
than a mere right to possess the property without any other right to alter the
nature or structure of the land or extract anything therefrom which is what
has been transferred under the lease agreement in the present case. No
premium has been paid by the lessee and SGL has not been granted any
proprietary right in the land or the building.


48. In R.K. Palshikhar (supra), the Assessee had obtained permission to

ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                       Page 25 of 32
develop agricultural land to make it suitable for a housing colony. Thereafter
he sub-divided the land into plots and gave them on 99 year lease. This was
held to be a transfer in relation to a capital asset within the meaning of
Section 12 B of the Income Tax Act 1922. One more fact distinguishing that
case from the present one was that the consideration for the 99 year lease
was salami and not the yearly rent. The capital gain was charged with
reference to the salami. Here again, no dispute was raised that the land itself
constituted a capital asset.

49. In CIT v. Narang Diary (supra), the issue concerned the interpretation
of the words "otherwise transferred" in Section 33 of the Act. The context
was the provision of rebate in respect of a new machinery and plant owned
by an assessee and wholly used for the purpose of business. In that context it
was held that not only ownership but also the exclusive use of the assets by
the assessee was essential for claiming rebate. Under Section 45 there is no
requirement of exclusive use by the owner of the asset.


50. The mere fact that the Assessee may have applied under Section 230A of
the Act to seek permission of the Department cannot be held against it as far
as the correct legal position is concerned. In other words the fact that certain
columns in the concerned form were filled by the Assessee to imply that
there was a transfer of leasehold/ownership rights cannot be read to
constitute a waiver by the Assessee of the legal defences that flow from a
correct interpretation of the clauses of the lease agreement and from a
correct reading of Section 2 (47) with Section 45 of the Act.


ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 26 of 32
51. The ITAT has itself observed that the mere fact that the land and
building may not have been used by the lessee or that after expiry of the
lease the plant and machinery would have very little value since the black
and white television market was in a decline were by themselves not
relevant for coming to the conclusion that there was a sale of plant and
machinery or of the leasehold rights in the land and building. The lease
agreement had to form the fundamental basis for understanding what the
transaction in effect was. The relationship between the parties could not
have been re-configured on the basis of surmises and conjectures. The AO
and CIT (A) appeared to have proceeded on the basic suspicion that the
lease agreement was a tax avoidance device and this prevented them from
objectively viewing the transaction for what it in effect was. The decision in
CIT v. Cosmo Films Ltd. (supra) reiterated the settled legal position that the
court would have to find out as to what was the real intention of the parties
in entering into the agreement and that "such intention has to be gathered
from the words in the said agreement in a tangible and in an objective
manner and not upon a hypothetical assessment of the supposed motive of
the Assessee to avoid tax." In CIT v. George Willamson (Assam) Limited
(supra) the Court citing the decision of the Supreme Court in Union of
India v. Azadi Bachao Andolan [2003] 132 Taxman 373 (SC) observed: "It
is open for Assessees to arrange their affairs in such a manner that it would
not attract the tax liabilities, so far as it can be managed within the
permissible limit of the law. Tax management is permissible, if the law
authorises so."


52. Recently, in Vodafone International Holdings BV (supra) the Supreme
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                  Page 27 of 32
Court explained the legal position regarding tax avoidance as under:
                "68. ........In the application of a judicial anti-avoidance rule, the
                Revenue may invoke the "substance over form" principle or
                "piercing the corporate veil" test only after it is able to establish
                on the basis of the facts and circumstances surrounding the
                transaction that the impugned transaction is a sham or tax
                avoidant. To give an example, if a structure is used for circular
                trading or round tripping or to pay bribes then such
                transactions, though having a legal form, should be discarded
                by applying the test of fiscal nullity. Similarly, in a case where
                the Revenue finds that in a Holding Structure an entity which
                has no commercial/business substance has been interposed only
                to avoid tax then in such cases applying the test of fiscal nullity
                it would be open to the Revenue to discard such
                interpositioning of that entity. However, this has to be done at
                the threshold. In this connection, we may reiterate the "look at"
                principle enunciated in Ramsay (supra) in which it was held
                that the Revenue or the Court must look at a document or a
                transaction in a context to which it properly belongs to. It is the
                task of the Revenue/Court to ascertain the legal nature of the
                transaction and while doing so it has to look at the entire
                transaction as a whole and not to adopt a dissecting approach.
                The Revenue cannot start with the question as to whether the
                impugned transaction is a tax deferment/saving device but that
                it should apply the "look at" test to ascertain its true legal
                nature [See Craven v. White (supra) which further observed that
                genuine strategic tax planning has not been abandoned by any
                decision of the English Courts till date]."

53. This Court is also unable to agree with the contention of the learned
counsel for the Revenue that the lease of the plant and machinery can be
separated from the lease of the land and buildings and the former transaction
held to be valid and the latter a sham transaction. The Court is of the view
that the context in which the decision in Shin Satellite Public Co. Ltd. v.
Jain Studios Ltd. (supra) was rendered was entirely different from the
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                         Page 28 of 32
present case and that decision is of no assistance to the Revenue here.


Was there a 'sale' of leasehold rights?
54. This brings us to question Nos.3 and 4, i.e. whether a transaction
pertaining to land and building or of plant and machinery could be treated as
sale of either the leasehold rights in respect of the land or the sale of the
plant and machinery itself?


55. There seems to be a contradiction in the order of the ITAT where in para
46 it states that in the present case the land is not a depreciable asset and that
as far as the building and plant and machinery were concerned, the
ownership thereof remained in the Assessee and, therefore, it could not be
said that either the asset itself have been sold or the block of assets ceased to
be in existence." The ITAT appears to acknowledge that the ownership of
the assets continued with the Assessee. However, the ITAT proceeded to
hold that the "leasehold rights" and "not the asset itself" was sold. It is not
understood how the ITAT has arrived at the concept of sale of leasehold
rights because a sale connotes absolute transfer of rights with no reversion
of any part thereof to the original owner. There has to be an extinguishment
of ownership rights in order that a transaction can be said to be a 'sale'. Here,
as noted earlier, the lessee does not even have the right of sub-letting the
facilities. The leasehold right is only for a period of ten years and at the end
of that period the leased facilities revert to the owner. Consequently, the
Court is unable to agree with the conclusion of the ITAT that in the present
case there was a "sale" of leasehold rights by virtue of the lease agreement
in question.
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                     Page 29 of 32
56. What appears to have weighed with the ITAT is the valuation of the
business as a going concern and the said valuation forming the basis for
determining the consideration for the grant of the lease and fixing of the
yearly lease rentals. The explanation offered by the Assessee that the fact
that it was not going to be in control of the assets or use them for its
business, that there was going to be a loss of business opportunity which,
therefore, had to be compensated and this weighed with the CAs in fixing
the valuation appears to be a plausible one. While there is a non-compete in
the agreement between the TEL and SGL, that by itself does not lead to the
conclusion that the transaction of lease was in fact one of sale.


57. In any event this whole hypothesis stands disproved by the fact that on
the expiry of the lease period, the land, building and plant and machinery
reverted to the Assessee. The land and the building were sold by the
Assessee to an unrelated third party. The said transactions formed the
subject matter of the Assessment order for the AY 2006-07. The order of the
CIT (A) dated 30th August 2011 has been perused by the Court. It holds that
the sale of the land by the Assessee to an unrelated third party, M/s.
Blossom Automotives, for a consideration of Rs. 4.01 crores took place on
8th September 2005 and after accepting the Assessee's valuation of the said
land the CIT (A) has directed that the Assessee be taxed on long term capital
gains arising out of the said sale of the land. The said order also shows that
for the building, which was also sold as part of the sale of land, the Assessee
has continued to claim depreciation till the date of such sale. The fact that
the Assessee continued to claim depreciation on the plant and machinery and
building is another indication that the Assessee continued to assert
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                   Page 30 of 32
ownership of the assets in question during the relevant AYs. The above
order of the CIT (A) forms part of the records of the Department and has
naturally not been disputed by it. Although this development could not have
been anticipated at the time the AO or the CIT (A) decided the issue in the
present case, it completely vindicates the Assessee's stand in relation to the
nature of the transaction forming the subject matter of the lease agreement.


58. Consequently, there are several factors in favour of the Assessee that
persuade the Court to hold, with reference to question Nos. 3 and 4 that the
ITAT was not right in holding that the transaction of lease of the facilities
was a sale of leasehold rights and that there was in any event a sale of the
plant and machinery. The Court answers question Nos.3 and 4 in favour of
the Assessee and against the Revenue.


Was there a capital gain under Section 45?
59. The last question that requires to be addressed whether there could be
said to be any capital gains under Section 45 of the Act? In light of the
above discussion, the question will have to be answered in favour of the
Assessee and against the Revenue. The Court is of the view that the
transaction in question was nothing more than a transaction of lease and has
been acted upon by the parties as such. This was not a device adopted by the
Assessee for tax avoidance.


60. The question No.5 is accordingly answered in favour of the Assessee
and against the Revenue. It is held that the ITAT erred in holding that the
transaction in question was chargeable to capital gain under Section 45 of
ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                                  Page 31 of 32
the Act. There was no occasion for the ITAT to remand the matter to the AO
for re-computation of the capital gains.

Conclusion
61. The impugned order of the ITAT to the above extent is set aside and the
appeal of the Assessee is allowed. The Revenues appeal is dismissed.



                                                    S. MURALIDHAR, J




                                                    VIBHU BAKHRU, J
SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
dn/b'nesh




ITA Nos. 38 of 2002 & 132 of 2002                               Page 32 of 32

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