2010 (9) TMI 641 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance u/s 14A - Rebate u/s 88E - It is noted that the question of making disallowance u/s 14A is no more res integra in view of the recent judgment dated 12.08.2010 of the Hon ble Bombay High Court in Godrej& Boyce Limited Vs. ACIT (2010 (8) TMI 77 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT) holding that the provisions of section 14A are applicable in such circumstances and the disallowance has to be worked out by the AO on some reasonable basis and not rule 8D Regarding rebate u/s 88E - it is imperative that there should be some liability to pay income-tax on the transactions which suffered STT and then rebate is allowable to the extent of such income-tax liability for an amount maximum of STT paid - Brought forward speculation loss was set off to the tune of Rs.1.92 crore thereby leaving no income in respect of such transactions - It shows that there was no liability to pay any income-tax in the current year on such transactions - Decided against the assessee

Summary

Issues:
1. Disallowance under section 14A read with rule 8D.
2. Benefit of rebate under section 88E on speculation income chargeable to tax.

Issue 1: Disallowance under section 14A read with rule 8D:
- The appeal was against the disallowance of Rs.2,19,208 made by the Assessing Officer under section 14A read with rule 8D.
- The Tribunal referred to a recent judgment of the Bombay High Court stating that disallowance under section 14A should be based on a reasonable basis and not rule 8D.
- The Tribunal set aside the order and directed the Assessing Officer to decide the quantum of disallowance based on the mentioned judgment.

Issue 2: Benefit of rebate under section 88E on speculation income chargeable to tax:
- The appellant claimed rebate under section 88E, but the Assessing Officer denied it as the speculation income was set off against brought forward losses, resulting in no taxable income.
- The Tribunal analyzed the provisions of section 88E and related sections to determine the eligibility for the rebate.
- It was clarified that the rebate under section 88E is only applicable to income-tax arising from transactions subject to Securities Transaction Tax (STT).
- The Tribunal emphasized that the rebate is allowable only if there is a liability to pay income tax on such transactions.
- The Tribunal rejected the appellant's claim for rebate under section 88E as there was no liability to pay income tax on the transactions that suffered STT, leading to the failure of this ground in the appeal.

In conclusion, the Tribunal partly allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, setting aside the disallowance under section 14A for reconsideration and rejecting the claim for rebate under section 88E due to the absence of income tax liability on the relevant transactions. The judgment provided a detailed analysis of the legal provisions and relevant case law to support the decisions on both issues.