1998 (8) TMI 80 - HC - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether the Tribunal was justified in directing the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) to admit the assessee's grounds relating to weighted deduction?
2. Whether the expenses incurred by the assessee in respect of the wives of the directors were necessary for the business of the assessee-company?

Analysis:

Issue 1:
The Tribunal directed the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) to admit the assessee's grounds relating to weighted deduction, even though they were not raised before the Assessing Officer. The High Court referred to a previous decision where a similar question was answered. The court concluded that, based on the previous order, the present reference did not need further adjudication. Therefore, the court did not delve into this issue further.

Issue 2:
Regarding the expenses incurred by the assessee in connection with the tour of the wives of the directors, the Revenue argued that these expenses were personal in nature and not for business purposes. The court referred to relevant sections of the Income-tax Act, which allow deduction for expenses laid out exclusively for business purposes. The Revenue cited a Madras High Court decision to support their argument that expenses for wives' travel are personal expenses. However, the assessee contended that the expenses were related to promoting business goodwill. The court noted that the Tribunal had classified the expenses as business expenses based on the available materials. The court emphasized that its jurisdiction under section 256(2) of the Act is advisory and limited to answering questions of law. Since the validity of the Tribunal's findings of fact was not challenged, the court could not independently assess the facts. Therefore, the court ruled in favor of the assessee on this issue, as the Tribunal had determined the expenses to be business-related.

In conclusion, the court answered the first question based on a previous decision and ruled in favor of the assessee on the second issue, as the Tribunal had classified the expenses as business-related without the validity of their findings being challenged.