2014 (10) TMI 321 - AT - Income Tax

Treatment of special bonus expenses u/s 37(1) Held that - The payment of special bonus was disallowed by the AO on the ground that the assessee did not produce the full copy of the shareholders agreement which is the basic document for determining the allowability of the payment of special bonus - Despite being asked by the Assessing Officer the assessee did not produce the same on the ground that the same was not available at the time of assessment proceedings - assessee submitted that given an opportunity the assessee will produce the shareholder s agreement before the AO which could not be produced before the lower authorities since the same was not available at the relevant point of time - the shareholders agreement is the basic document for determining the allowability or otherwise of the expenditure relating to special bonus paid, the matter is to be remitted back to the AO for fresh adjudication Decided in favour of assessee. Reduction of claim of deduction u/s 10B Interest as income derived from eligible business Held that - Since the assessee has not justified before the AO the reasons for not excluding the other income while working out the exemption u/s.10B and since nothing is coming out of the records as to what has happened finally in the preceding assessment years, therefore, the matter is to be remitted back to the AO for passing a speaking order Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Disallowance of special bonus expenditure under Section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act.
2. Reduction of deduction claim under Section 10B by excluding interest income.
3. Disallowance under Section 14A read with Rule 8-D.
4. Additional ground regarding proportionate additional deduction under Section 10B if special incentive bonus is disallowed.

Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Disallowance of Special Bonus Expenditure:

The assessee, Semco Electric Pvt. Ltd., claimed a special bonus expenditure of Rs. 18,45,25,000/-, which was disallowed by the Assessing Officer (AO) under Section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act. The AO argued that the special bonus was linked to a change in the company's ownership, suggesting it was a liability of the shareholders, not the company. The assessee failed to produce the full shareholders' agreement, which was crucial for determining the allowability of this expenditure. The Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) upheld the AO's decision. The Tribunal, considering the totality of facts and the importance of the shareholders' agreement, restored the issue to the AO for fresh adjudication, giving the assessee another opportunity to produce the agreement. Thus, the ground was allowed for statistical purposes.

2. Reduction of Deduction Claim under Section 10B:

The AO reduced the assessee's deduction claim under Section 10B by excluding interest income of Rs. 1,05,47,629/-, arguing that it was not derived from eligible business. The assessee contended that the interest income arose from surplus funds of the eligible business and should be included in the deduction claim. Alternatively, the assessee argued for netting off the interest income against related expenses. The Tribunal noted that the assessee did not justify the inclusion of other income for Section 10B deduction during the assessment and restored the issue to the AO for a detailed examination and a speaking order. The AO was directed to consider the netting off argument and decide the issue afresh, allowing the ground for statistical purposes.

3. Disallowance under Section 14A read with Rule 8-D:

The assessee did not press this ground due to the smallness of the amount (Rs. 1,00,750/-). The Tribunal dismissed this ground accordingly.

4. Additional Ground Regarding Proportionate Additional Deduction under Section 10B:

The assessee raised an additional ground requesting proportionate additional deduction under Section 10B if the special incentive bonus was disallowed. The Tribunal admitted this legal ground and correlated it with the first ground. Since the first ground was restored to the AO, this additional ground was also restored for fresh adjudication in accordance with the law, allowing it for statistical purposes.

Conclusion:

In summary, the Tribunal restored the issues related to the special bonus expenditure and the reduction of deduction claim under Section 10B to the AO for fresh adjudication, allowing the appeal partly for statistical purposes. The disallowance under Section 14A was dismissed as it was not pressed by the assessee. The additional ground was admitted and restored to the AO for fresh adjudication.