1993 (7) TMI 60 - HC - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
Whether the Incometax Appellate Tribunal was justified in deleting the sum of Rs. 1,92,232 received by the assessee during the relevant assessment year.
Whether the amount in question had already been accounted for in the bills for the earlier years.
Whether the deletion of the sum by the Tribunal was correct based on the facts and circumstances of the case.

Analysis:
The case involved a registered firm, the assessee, under the Incometax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 1983-84. The Income-tax Officer made an addition of Rs. 1,92,232 towards the "value of additional claim relating to the earlier years which had not been accounted earlier." The assessee objected to this addition, which was later affirmed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). However, the Incometax Appellate Tribunal held that the amount received during the year had already been accounted for in the bills issued to the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation in the earlier years. The Tribunal found that the sum of Rs. 1,92,232 was paid to the assessee by the Corporation for transportation charges from February 1980 to March 1981, and that this amount had been accounted for in the earlier years, leading to the deletion of the sum by the Tribunal.

The Tribunal's decision was based on the fact that the amount in question had already been reflected in the assessee's accounts for the earlier years. The Tribunal considered the communication by the Corporation, which confirmed that the sum of Rs. 1,92,232 was due to the assessee for transportation services provided in the specified period. The Tribunal concluded that even though the payment was received in the relevant year, it had already been accounted for in the earlier years, as evidenced by the bills issued by the Corporation. Therefore, the Tribunal found no grounds to add this amount as income for the assessment year 1983-84.

The High Court, after examining the facts and the Tribunal's reasoning, held that the Tribunal was justified in deleting the sum of Rs. 1,92,232 received by the assessee during the relevant assessment year. The Court agreed with the Tribunal's finding that the amount had already been accounted for in the bills for the earlier years and that there was no evidence to suggest otherwise. Consequently, the Court answered the reference question in favor of the assessee and against the Revenue, upholding the Tribunal's decision to delete the sum in question.