2011 (11) TMI 688 - AT - Income Tax

Allowable business expenditure - revenue expenses or capital nature expenses - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
1. Allowance of appeal by CIT(A) without appreciating the facts of the case.
2. Deletion of addition of Rs. 52,50,000 on account of treating revenue expenses as capital nature expenses.

Analysis:
Issue 1: The appeal was filed by the Department against the order passed by the CIT(A) allowing the appeal of the assessee. The assessee, a company set up by the Punjab Government for various business activities, filed its return of income initially at Rs. 1,50,00,000, which was later revised to Rs. 83,11,440. The Department, upon scrutiny, assessed the total income at Rs. 1,35,61,440, treating certain expenses claimed by the assessee as capital expenditure. However, the CIT(A) held that these expenses were revenue in nature, leading to the allowance of the appeal by the assessee.

Issue 2: The Department, aggrieved by the CIT(A)'s order, appealed before the Tribunal. During the hearing, it was noted that the impugned expenses were similar to those incurred by the assessee in previous assessment years, which were previously held as revenue expenditure by the Tribunal in the assessee's favor. Both parties agreed that the issue under appeal was covered by the Tribunal's earlier orders. The Tribunal, upon perusal of the CIT(A)'s order and considering the precedent set by its previous decisions, dismissed the Department's appeal, affirming the treatment of the impugned expenses as revenue expenditure.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision, dismissing the Department's appeal and affirming the treatment of the expenses as revenue expenditure based on the precedents set by the Tribunal's earlier orders.