2013 (3) TMI 662 - AT - Income Tax

Interest on refund - Held that - Assesse is entitled for the interest on refund according to the provision of section 244A(1) and the Ld.CIT(A) has not given any direction contrary to law. No justifiable reason to interfere with order passed by the Ld.CIT(A) directing the AO to exclude the interest element of refund earlier granted as the provisions of the I.T Act do not permit to include interest within refund in the given situation while deducting the amount of refund issued earlier, and therefore ground no 2 is hereby dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Interpretation of section 244A regarding interest on refund.
2. Whether interest element should be included in the refund computation.

Analysis:
1. The appeal pertains to the Assessment Year 1997-98 where the Revenue challenged the order of the Ld.CIT(A) regarding the computation of refund. The AO revised the total income of the assessee based on an earlier ITAT order. The Ld.CIT(A) directed the AO to exclude the interest element of the refund issued earlier, leading to the present appeal.

2. The Revenue raised two main grounds in the appeal. Firstly, the Ld.CIT(A) was criticized for not following the provision of section 244A regarding the entitlement of the assessee to simple interest on the refund. However, the Tribunal found this ground to be vague and dismissed it, stating that the Ld.CIT(A) did not act contrary to the law. The Tribunal upheld the assessee's entitlement to interest as per section 244A(1).

3. Secondly, the Revenue argued that the Ld.CIT(A) erred in directing the AO to exclude the interest element from the refund computation, leading to an alleged excess grant of interest. The Tribunal, after considering the arguments, upheld the Ld.CIT(A)'s decision, stating that the Income Tax Act does not allow the inclusion of interest within the refund in this situation. Therefore, this ground was also dismissed, and the Ld.CIT(A)'s order was upheld.

4. In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by the Revenue, thereby affirming the Ld.CIT(A)'s order. The judgment highlighted the importance of adhering to the provisions of the Income Tax Act and upheld the assessee's right to interest on the refund as per section 244A(1). The decision was pronounced on March 6, 2013, by the Tribunal.