2010 (1) TMI 867 - AT - Income Tax

Commission - TDS - assessee has not credited the income in the Profit and Loss account - assessee has claimed the TDS as per TDS certificate. The AO, therefore, included the commission payment - Assessee contended that certain expenses like salary and rent are reimbursed to some extent and balance amount is charged to Profit and Loss account whereas certain expenses are incurred by the assessee on behalf of the principal where the bills are issued in the name of the Principal itself and charged directly to the Principal account - Held that - matter is restored to the file of the Assessing Officer, appeal allowed for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against order of Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) for assessment year 2004-05 regarding addition of commission received from M/s. Pharmacia Health Care Ltd. Mumbai.

Analysis:
The appeal raised multiple grounds challenging the addition of commission in the income of the assessee. The assessee received a commission of Rs.1,96,650 from M/s. Pharmacia Health Care Ltd. Mumbai, which was not credited in the Profit and Loss account as observed by the Assessing Officer. The assessee claimed TDS as per the TDS certificate, but the AO included the commission payment in the assessee's income. The learned CIT(A) upheld the AO's decision.

The counsel for the assessee argued that the assessee is a Clearing and Forwarding Agent for two companies, where certain expenses like salary and rent are reimbursed partially and charged to the profit and loss account. Detailed ledger accounts and bills were presented as evidence, indicating that expenses incurred on behalf of M/s. Pharmacia Health Care Ltd. were directly debited to their account. The counsel contended that these details were not properly considered by the authorities below. On the other hand, the Departmental Representative relied on the lower authorities' orders.

Upon review, it was noted that the explanation provided by the assessee regarding the reimbursement of expenses and direct billing to the principal had not been adequately assessed by the lower authorities. In the interest of justice, the matter was directed to be sent back to the Assessing Officer for a thorough examination of the assessee's explanation and a fresh decision on the issue. The Assessing Officer was instructed to reevaluate the case based on the provided details and make a decision accordingly.

As a result, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, indicating that the decision was made solely for record-keeping and not for any substantive change in the tax liability of the assessee.