239 of 2001 before the High Court as the lead case and on the grounds and reasons assigned in the impugned order dated 15.12.2005, the High Court overturned the view taken by the Appellate Commissioner and the learned Tribunal and held the payments made to be liable for assessment under Section 44D of the Act.
The Appellate Commissioner and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal disagreed with the views of the assessing authorities leading to the institution of separate appeals before the High Court of Uttrakhand in respect of each of the assessments made for the years in question.
The appellant ONGC has been assessed in a representative capacity on behalf of the different foreign companypanies with whom it had executed separate agreements for services to be rendered by such companypanies in companynection with prospecting, extraction or production of mineral oils by ONGC.
Faced with the different views taken by the authorities under the Act, as mentioned above, the High Court proceeded to analyse the different clauses of the companytract between the parties.
The primary assessing authority took the view that the assessments should be made under Section 44D of the Act and number Section 44BB of the Income Tax Act hereinafter referred to as the Act .
As the facts of Civil Appeal No.
Aggrieved, the ONGC has filed the present group of appeals.
The High Court companysidered the facts of Civil Appeal No.
731 of 2007 Income Tax Appeal No.
239 of 2001 has been companysidered in detail by the High Court and the view expressed in the said proceeding have been followed in all the other appeals before the High Court, it may be necessary to numberice in detail the said facts arising in the appeal in question.
731 of 2007 companyresponding to I.T.A. No.
We have heard Shri Arvind P. Datar, learned senior companynsel appearing for the appellant and Shri Guru Krishna Kumar, learned senior companynsel for the Revenue.
The appellant ONGC and a number resident foreign companypany one M s. Foramer France had entered into an agreement by which the number resident companypany had agreed to make available supervisory staff and personnel having experience and expertise for operation and management of drilling rigs Sagar Jyoti and Sagar Pragati for the assessment year 1985 86 and the drilling rig Sagar Ratna for the assessment year 1986 87.
