Section 44AC — the law in short
What the courts have decided on section 44AC, in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.
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Union of India v A. Sanyasi Rao
Supreme CourtCuts both waysValidity unconfirmed
Tax has been collected from me at source on my purchase price as though a fixed percentage of it were my profit. Am I stuck with that figure, or can I still be assessed on my real income?
You can still be assessed on your real income. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of section 206C and held section 44AC a valid piece of legislation, but read it down: it is an adjunct to and explanatory of section 206C and does not dispense with a regular assessment. To the extent its non obstante clause shut out sections 28 to 43C for the specified trades, the provision was unreasonable, no basis having been shown for denying those traders the reliefs every other assessee gets. So tax is collected at the section 206C rates and a regular assessment follows, with profits computed under sections 28 to 43C.
Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.