2013 (12) TMI 653 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance of payment being unreasonable and excessive The assessee s name and logo is published in all the 16,85,640 pieces of calendars and no separate charges are collected by Media World enterprises for such advertisement - Held that - Media World Enterprises, is a publisher and it is not a mere printer - A Hindu calendar requires many inputs, material and specialized knowledge which can be done only by certain persons having the expertise - Paying Rs. 2 in excess per calendar, for getting advertisement in about more than 10,00,000 pieces is justifiable - Media World Enterprises and the assessee company are paying tax at the very same marginal rate - Decided in favour of the assessee. Disallowance of professional charges paid for services rendered Assessee paid the sum of Rs. 3.6 lacs as honorarium to Mrs. Ashoo Darda - A member of the event group of the assessee called Sakhi Manch - Held that - The payment made to the person was for organizing event which helped the assessee in image building among public The similar payments were made by the assessee in earlier years The same were allowed by the Revenue Decided in favour of the assessee. Disallowance of recovery commission paid by the assessee The assessee entered into an agreement with the associate concern, M/s. Media Expert Pvt. Ltd (MEPL) and the recovery commission of Rs. 157.82 lacs @ 9% of amount collected on account of advertisement charges - Held that - Following J K Woollen Manufacturers vs. CIT 1968 (8) TMI 15 - SUPREME Court - The commission stood paid to MEPL since 1.1.1996 and commission income received by MEPL stood returned and assessed by the Department in the hands of MEPL - MEPL had actually rendered services relating to recovery, marketing, billing, collection of advertisement - The transaction with the associate concern was not merely a paper transaction While applying the test of commercial expediency, for determining whether an expenditure was wholly and exclusively laid out for the purpose of assessee s business, reasonableness of the expenditure has to be judged from the point of view of a businessman and not of IT Department - Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Disallowance of payment to Media World Enterprises for calendars and professional charges.
2. Disallowance of recovery commission paid to Media Experts Private Limited.

Issue 1: Disallowance of payment to Media World Enterprises for calendars and professional charges:
The appeals were filed against the order of CIT (A) for the assessment year 2007-2008. The first ground raised by the assessee was regarding the disallowance of payments made to Media World Enterprises for calendars and professional charges. The Tribunal referred to a similar issue in the assessee's case for the assessment year 2005-2006, where relief was granted based on the satisfactory explanation provided by the assessee. The Tribunal noted that the disallowance was not justified as the payment was for advertisement in calendars and the services rendered were essential for the business. Considering the settled nature of the issue and the commonality with the assessment year 2005-2006, the Tribunal allowed the ground raised by the assessee for the assessment year 2007-2008.

Issue 2: Disallowance of recovery commission paid to Media Experts Private Limited:
The second issue pertained to the disallowance of recovery commission paid to Media Experts Private Limited (MEPL). The AO disallowed the amount for lack of evidence of services rendered. The Tribunal, after considering a similar issue for the assessment year 2005-2006, upheld the Commissioner (Appeals) findings that MEPL had indeed provided services related to recovery, marketing, billing, and collection of advertisements. The Tribunal emphasized the long-standing arrangement between the assessee and MEPL, where payments were made for genuine services. The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's grounds for disallowance, highlighting the commercial expediency and reasonableness of the expenditure incurred. As the facts and additions confirmed by the CIT (A) were identical, the Tribunal dismissed the grounds raised by the Revenue for the assessment year 2007-2008.

In conclusion, the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Mumbai allowed the assessee's appeal regarding the disallowance of payments to Media World Enterprises and professional charges, as well as dismissed the Revenue's appeal concerning the disallowance of recovery commission paid to Media Experts Private Limited for the assessment year 2007-2008.