2014 (4) TMI 1214 - AT - Income Tax

Carry forward of short-term capital loss - assessee had not claimed any such loss in the return of income - Held that - It is not disputed by the Revenue that the loss arose to the assessee on account of surrender of single premium equity linked insurance policies which were used for making investments in Mutual Fund. Revenue has also not disputed the claim of assessee that resulting loss on account of such surrender of single premium insurance policy could be treated as short-term capital loss. It s only grievance is that assessee had not made such a claim before the ld. CIT(Appeals). It is true that assessee had not made the claim in her return of income. However it is also a fact that assessee had endeavoured to set off the loss against her interest income which was not allowed by the Assessing Officer. Hence it is not that there was no claim of loss at all. We are therefore of the view that ld. CIT(Appeals) acted well within his powers when he directed the Assessing Officer to allow the carry forward of short-term capital loss - Decided against revenue Disallowance of interest - Held that - The profits were sufficient to meet the advance tax liability and the profits were deposited in the overdraft account of the assessee and in such a case it should be presumed that the taxes were paid out of the profits of the year and not out of the overdraft account for the running of the business.CIT(Appeals) was justified in allowing the interest paid on loans to be deducted from the interest earned. - Decided against revenue

Summary

Issues:
1. Allowance of carried forward short-term capital loss.
2. Allowance of interest payment against interest receipt without establishing nexus.

Analysis:

Issue 1:
The first issue in this appeal pertains to the allowance of carried forward short-term capital loss. The Revenue challenged the decision of the ld. CIT(Appeals) to permit the carry forward of a loss that the assessee had not claimed in the return of income. The loss arose from the surrender of single premium equity linked insurance policies, resulting in a loss of &8377; 25,88,437. The Assessing Officer disallowed this loss adjustment, stating that the claim was wrongly made. However, the assessee argued that the loss should be treated as a short-term capital loss eligible for carry forward benefits under section 74(2) of the Act. The ld. CIT(Appeals) agreed with the assessee's contention, noting that the loss was a capital loss and not subject to Section 10(10D)(c). The Tribunal upheld the decision, emphasizing that the claim, although not made in the return, was legitimate and should be allowed for carry forward benefits.

Issue 2:
The second issue concerns the allowance of interest payment against interest receipt without establishing a nexus. The Assessing Officer disallowed the claim of interest payment of &8377; 14,89,071 against an interest receipt of &8377; 38,81,885, stating that the loans taken were not deployed for investments earning interest. The assessee argued that the Fixed Deposits were made from the loans taken, establishing a nexus between the deposits and loans. The ld. CIT(Appeals) agreed with the assessee, holding that the interest paid could be claimed as a deduction from the interest received on Fixed Deposits. The Tribunal supported this decision, noting that the assessee had provided evidence of the nexus between the Bank loan and deposits, and had sufficient own funds for interest-free advances, as per legal precedents cited. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal of the Revenue, upholding the decision of the ld. CIT(Appeals) regarding the interest payment deduction.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the decisions of the ld. CIT(Appeals) on both issues, allowing the carried forward short-term capital loss and permitting the deduction of interest payment against interest receipt, based on the established nexus between the loans and deposits.