D.V. Shylendra Kumar, J.—This appeal by an assessee under s. 260A of the IT Act, 1961 (for short, the Act), though is given one number, it is clarified by Sri A. Shankar, learned counsel for appellant-assessee that the appeals related to three assessment years viz., 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 and therefore the assessee has paid commensurate Court fee for three appeals. Registry is directed to take note of this position and assign two more appeal numbers.

2. The common order dt. 28th Feb., 2006 (copy at Annex. A to the memorandum of appeal), passed by the Tribunal in respect of the three assessment years in question is challenged in these appeals and arguments are addressed in common.

3. The assessee is a company registered under the provisions of Companies Act, 1956 and the controversy in the appeals is with regard to the assessee company's liability for payment of tax for the three assessment years in question, as levied under the provisions of s. 115JB of the Act. The provisions of s. 115JB though had come on the statute book w.e.f. 1st April, 2000 as per the Finance Act, 2000 and are applicable for the asst. yr. 2001-02 onwards, it was amended by the Finance Act, 2002 and was made operative from 1st April, 2001 and the amending Act though, in fact, received the assent of the President only on 11th May, 2002, it is being made applicable from an anterior date i.e. from 1st April, 2001 itself. To this extent, the question arises for the asst. yr. 2002-03 with regard to the application and operation for this assessment year. The amendment was for making the book profits as deemed taxable income of the assessee company under the circumstances explained and this income was to be charged at 71/2 per cent of such income.

4. Prior to this amendment, while the charge was with reference to the amount of book profit i.e. 71/2 per cent of the book profit, a possible apprehension that a reference only to the book profit as taxable can invite a challenge to the levy and this was sought to be redressed by this amendment by the amount of book profit being deemed to be the income on which charge is made operative under s. 115JB of the Act.

5. Be that as it may, insofar as the controversy relating to the question of levy of tax at 71/2 per cent on the deemed income, which is book profit of the assessee is concerned, the assessee had challenged such levy and charge and such contentions of the assessee has been negatived by the AO while reassessing the income for the asst. yr. 2002-03 by issue of notice under s. 148 of the Act and tax liability had been determined as per the amendment to s. 115JB.

6. For the subsequent two assessment years, the assessee being fully aware of the provisions of this section and having filed returns, they had been assessed.

7. The assessee had opposed the levy on various grounds and mainly contending that insofar as its income from a newly established industrial unit in Silvassa, a notified backward area, is concerned, the assessee enjoyed an incentive under s. 80-IB of the Act; that its entire income attributable to this activity was allowed as exempted income and therefore the taxable income of the assessee was not as determined by applying the provisions of s. 115JB of the Act; that a determination under s. 115JB of the Act was virtually taking away the exemption given to the assessee i.e. exemption given under s. 80-IB of the Act is sought to be taken away by the provision of s. 115JB of the Act and that cannot be permitted to the detriment of the assessee; that the principle of promissory estoppel operated against the Revenue and the principle of legitimate expectation operated in favour of the assessee and a combined effect of the two was to ensure that insofar as the assessee-company is concerned, for the duration of period during which the assessee company enjoyed the concession under the provisions of s. 80-IB of the Act, irrespective of the provisions under s. 115JB of the Act, providing for minimum a