JUDGMENT :

R.F. NARIMAN, J.

1. Delay condoned. Leave granted.

2. The appeals before us raise an important question as to the constitutional validity of the third proviso to Section 254(2A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “Income Tax Act”).

3. The facts in Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax & Anr. v. M/s Pepsi Foods Ltd. [now Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd] (Civil Appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No.30284 of 2015) may be set out as being illustrative of the facts in all the appeals before us. The Respondent-assessee is an Indian company incorporated on 24.02.1989 and is engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of concentrates, fruit juices, processing of rice and trading of goods for exports. The assessee is a group company of the multi-national Pepsico Inc., a company incorporated and registered in the United States of America. The assessee-company merged with Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. w.e.f. 01.04.2010, in terms of a scheme of arrangement duly approved by the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court. On 30.09.2008, a return of income was filed for the assessment year 2008-2009 declaring a total income of INR 92,54,89,822. A final asse