THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM and THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE N. RAVI SHANKAR I.T.T.A.No.302 of 2011 JUDGMENT (Per Sri Justice Goda Raghuram) No substantial question of law inviting consideration arises in this appeal by the Revenue under Section 260A of the Income- tax Act, 1961 (for short ‘the Act’). This appeal is directed against the order dated 04.12.2008, of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Visakhapatnam Bench, Visakhapatnam, rejecting the appeal of the Revenue in ITA No.320/Vizag/2005 pertaining to the assessment year 1998-99. The short issue that arose for consideration before the Tribunal was whether the respondent-assessee is entitled to adjust the MAT credit first before charging of interest under Section 234B of the Act. In this appeal, the Revenue contends that since Explanation 1 to Section 234B was substituted by the Finance Act, 2006 w.e.f. 01.04.2007 accommodating any tax credit allowed to be set off in accordance with the provisions of Section 115JAA of the Act, in computation of the total income; and since prior to such substitution w.e.f 01.04.2007, Explanation 1 did not allow reduction of any tax credit allowed to be set off in accordance with the provisions of Section 115JAA, no such reduction is permissible. In view of the decision of the Supreme Court in COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CHENNAI v. TULSYAN NEC LIMITED[1], the said contention is misconceived. The Supreme Court pointed out that Section 143(1) of the Act clearly provides that while determining the tax payable, the Assessing Officer must give credit for all taxes paid either by way of deduction at source, advance tax, self-assessment tax or tax paid otherwise which would include or which cannot exclude tax credit under Section 115JAA(1) and as applied, the reduction of the tax credit, which is permitted to be set off in accordance with the provisions of Section 115JAA, even in respect of an assessment pertaining to assessment year 2001-2002 i.e., before coming into force of the amendment of Explanation 1 to Section 234B. In the aforesaid analysis, there are no merits in the appeal and it is accordingly dismissed at the stage of admission. There shall be no order as to costs. ___________________ GODA RAGHURAM, J ___________________ N. RAVI SHANKAR, J Date:23.08.2011 sj [1] (2011) 2 SCC 1