2013 (8) TMI 1019 - AT - Income Tax

Addition of interest on notional basis - Held that - The assessee has not provided any material/evidence to establish that there has been a claim for the repayment of the loan/interest and a consequent refusal thereon to pay the same. It is also noted that the assessee has not written off the loan as bad debt. As regards the contention of the assessee that the said interest has not been paid to the assessee due to the litigation with the debtors in our view is not acceptable as the AO and the Ld.CIT(A) has correctly held that there is no dispute between the assessee and the parties to whom the loans have been made on this issue. Mere fact that the said parties have not paid the impugned interest to the assessee as per their return cannot be the basis for giving relief to the assessee as the same has been assessed only on accrual basis and not on the basis of actual receipt - Decided against assessee

Summary

Issues:
Addition of interest on a notional basis for assessment years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07.

Analysis:
The appeals were filed against the orders of the Ld.CIT(A) 22, Mumbai for the mentioned assessment years, all related to the addition of interest on a notional basis. The assessee, a firm, had offered interest income on accrual basis for loans given to family members in previous years. The case was reopened as the interest income was not declared for the loans advanced, leading to additions by the AO for the years under consideration. The AO made these additions based on the mercantile system of accounting followed by the assessee and the previous offering of interest income on accrual basis. The Ld.CIT(A) upheld the AO's decision, leading to the appeals.

During the proceedings, the Ld. AR argued that the assessee had not received any interest and was unlikely to receive any in the future due to disputes with the loan parties. The AR highlighted that the debtors had not paid interest to the assessee during the relevant years. Legal precedents were cited to support the case. On the other hand, the Ld. DR supported the decisions of the AO and Ld.CIT(A) on behalf of the Revenue.

After hearing both parties and examining the evidence, it was noted that the assessee had consistently followed the mercantile system of accounting. The assessee failed to demonstrate that interest was offered for tax based on actual receipt in previous years. No evidence was provided to show a claim for repayment of the loan/interest and subsequent refusal to pay. The argument that interest was not received due to litigation with debtors was deemed unacceptable as there was no dispute between the assessee and the loan parties. The fact that debtors did not pay interest as per their returns did not justify relief for the assessee as the assessment was based on accrual, not actual receipt. The legal precedents cited were found inapplicable to the current case. Consequently, the orders of the Ld.CIT(A) were upheld, and all appeals were dismissed.

In conclusion, the appeals were dismissed, and the orders of the Ld.CIT(A) were upheld, confirming the addition of interest on a notional basis for the mentioned assessment years.