In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) challenging income tax assessment notices. NOIDA argued it was a 'local authority' exempt from income tax under Section 10(20) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and that a 2001 notification specifying it as an 'industrial township' under the Constitution made it equivalent to a municipality. The Court held that NOIDA is not a local authority. The notification does not constitute NOIDA as a municipality; an industrial township is merely an exception to the requirement to form a municipality, not equivalent to one. The Explanation to Section 10(20) exhaustively defines 'local authority' as only panchayats, municipalities, municipal committees, district boards, and cantonment boards—NOIDA fits none of these. Parliament's deletion of Section 10(20A) further demonstrated intent to tax development authorities like NOIDA.
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