2012 (5) TMI 53 - AT - Income Tax

Business of retail trade in liquor purchases from the Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation Ltd - AO computed the turnover by adopting the profit margin as 27% as per the GOMS No. 184 dated 7.2.2005 of the Govt. of AP and added the difference to the income as suppressed turnover - assessee was unable to produce sale bills - Tribunal directed AO to estimate the net profit at 3% of the purchases or stock put for sale during the year Held that - the entire understatement of sales cannot be treated as undisclosed income for the year under consideration - it is well settled law that the best guide for estimation of income after rejecting the books of accounts is either past history of the assessee or any other comparable cases - since the assessee s net profit in the past is between 0.12% to 0.28% of sales the estimation of the net profit at 3% is reasonable against revenue. Levying interest u/s 234B assessee contested that the entire purchases are subject to TCS and no advance tax is payable Held that - The rate of tax collectible may or may not be equivalent to tax which is ultimately payable by the purchaser, the purchaser has to pay advance tax to make up for this difference - Hence as per the provisions of Section 209 r.w.s. 234B the CIT(A) rightly directed the AO to give credit to the tax collectible u/s.206C from the tax on the assessed income and compute the short fall in payment of advance tax - against assessee.

Summary

Issues:
- Estimation of suppressed turnover based on profit margin
- Levying interest under Section 234B when purchases are subject to Tax Collection at Source (TCS)

Estimation of Suppressed Turnover:
The case involves appeals by the Revenue and Cross Objections by different assessees against the CIT(A)'s order pertaining to the assessment years 2007-08 & 2008-09. The primary issue is the estimation of suppressed turnover by the Assessing Officer (AO) due to the inability of the assessee, engaged in retail liquor trade, to produce sale bills as evidence for turnover. The AO computed turnover using profit margins specified by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, leading to an addition to the assessee's income. The CIT(A) directed the AO to estimate net profit at 3% of purchases or stock put for sale, following a Tribunal decision in a similar case. The Revenue contested this decision, arguing for a higher estimation based on past history and industry practices. However, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision, emphasizing the reasonableness of the 3% estimation given the lack of past history for the assessee.

Levying Interest under Section 234B:
Regarding the issue of levying interest under Section 234B when purchases are subject to TCS, the CIT(A) clarified that tax collected at source on alcoholic liquor sales should be credited before computing interest under Section 234B. The assessees contended that interest should not be levied as they were not obligated to pay advance tax due to purchases being subject to TCS. The CIT(A) referenced Section 209 to support the reduction of tax collectible under Section 206C while computing advance tax payable. The assessees relied on a case involving an employee withholding tax, but the CIT(A) distinguished it, noting the difference in tax equivalence between TCS and final tax liability. The Tribunal dismissed the Cross Objections, affirming the CIT(A)'s decision to credit TCS before calculating the shortfall in advance tax payment.

In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed all Revenue appeals and Cross Objections by the assessees, maintaining the CIT(A)'s orders on estimating suppressed turnover and levying interest under Section 234B in compliance with relevant legal provisions and precedents.