2025:BHC-OS:14175-DB IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY TRUSHA TUSHAR ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION MOHITE Digitally signed by TRUSHA TUSHAR INCOME TAX APPEAL NO. 1139 OF 2021 MOHITE Date: 2025.08.26 14:31:49 +0530 Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. .. Appellant Versus Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Raigad .. Respondent WITH CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 4963 OF 2021 Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. .. Petitioner Versus Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai & Ors. .. Respondents P. F. Kaka, Senior Adv. a/w Adv. Manish Kanth i/b. Adv. Atul K.

Jasani for the Appellant/Petitioner.

Adv. Akhileshwar Sharma for the Respondents.

CORAM: B. P. COLABAWALLA &

FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, JJ.

RESERVED ON : JULY 1 , 2025 JUDGEMENT (per Firdosh P. Pooniwalla, J.)

1. The Appellant/ Petitioner is a Joint Venture Company of APM Terminals Mauritius Limited and Container Corporation of India Limited (a Government undertaking).The Appellant/Petitioner will hereinafter in this order be referred to as the Appellant.

2. The Appellant has filed the present Appeal challenging the Order dated 28^th May, 2020 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( hereafter referred to as the “ the ITAT”) Bench – “G” Mumbai in ITA No. 300/Mum/2018 for the Assessment Year (A. Y.) 2012-13, wherein the ITAT has inter alia rejected the claim of the Appellant for deduction of interest under Section 80IA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (herein after referred to as “ the IT Act”).

3. The Appellant filed a Miscellaneous Application against the said Order dated 28^th May, 2020, submitting that the Order contained grave errors of both facts and law. By an Order dated 27^th April, 2021, the ITAT dismissed the said Miscellaneous Application. The Appellant has filed the present Writ Petition challenging the said Orders dated

28^th May, 2020 and 27^th April, 2021.

4. We will first consider the Appeal filed by the Appellant.

INCOME TAX APPEAL NO. 1139 OF 2021

5. The Appellant, during the previous year relevant to A.Y. 2012-13, was engaged in its only business of operating and maintaining a container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which was eligible for deduction under the provisions of Section 80IA of the IT Act.

6. During the previous year relevant to A.Y. 2012-13, interest income arose out of the said eligible business of the Appellant. It is the case of the Appellant that interest was earned out of money accrued from the eligible business of the Appellant and the same was also utilized for the purpose of its eligible business. The interest was earned from fixed deposits maintained with banks for the purpose of the business and related to the business of the Appellant. Interest was also earned on refund of taxes due to wrongful deduction of TDS by the customers of the Appellant.

7. The twin business reasons for parking the funds in fixed deposits with the bank were :-

a) under the License Agreement dated 10^th August, 2004 (hereinafter referred to as “the said License Agreement”) with JNPT, the Appellant was under an obligation to replace cranes after a certain period. These cranes are a significant portion of the machinery and equipment of the Appellant. The failure to replace the cranes as per the said License Agreement would result in a revocation of the license by JNPT. Therefore, a portion of the funds were periodically deposited/kept aside by way of fixed deposits to meet the contractual obligations required to be fulfilled in order to continue the Appellant’s business of operating and maintaining the container terminal.

b) The interest also arose due to parking of funds in compliance of this Court’s Order dated 2^nd July, 2012, arising out of a tariff dispute between the Appellant and the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP). The Tariff collected by the Appellant from its customers was in dispute and the same was made subject to final orders of this Court.

8. The Appellant filed its Return of Income for the A.Y. 2012- 13 claiming deduction under