2015 (2) TMI 155 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance of interest - loans advanced by the assessee to the employee s welfare trust - Held that - The ld DR contention that this aspect of the matter requires verification as it is not clear that the same loan given by the assessee company to the employees welfare trust for A.Y 2008-09 is continued in both the years under consideration and since the ld Counsel for the assessee also has no objection for getting this aspect verified from the AO, we restore this issue to the file of the AO for the limited purpose of verifying as to whether same loan given by the assessee company to its employees welfare trust is continued even during the year under consideration. If this factual position is found to be correct on such verification, the AO shall delete the disallowance made on account of interest for both the years under consideration. - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues Involved:
- Disallowance of interest made by the AO and confirmed by the ld CIT (A) to the extent attributable to loans advanced by the assessee to the employee's welfare trust.
- Verification of whether the same loan given by the assessee company to the employees welfare trust in A.Y 2008-09 continued in A.Ys 2009-10 and 2010-11.
- Consequential relief to the assessee on the levy of interest u/s 234B.
- Appeal raised by the Revenue for A.Y 2009-10 regarding relief of Rs. 9,09,307.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Disallowance of Interest:
- The assessee provided interest-free loans to its employees' welfare trust, claiming the expense was incurred solely for business purposes.
- The AO disallowed the interest expenditure, stating the loans were for personal benefit and not connected to the business.
- The ld CIT (A) upheld the disallowance based on precedents from the assessee's earlier case.
- The Tribunal directed the AO to verify if borrowed funds were used for the loans, and upon confirmation that they were not, the disallowance was deleted for both A.Ys.

Issue 2: Verification of Continuation of Loan:
- The Tribunal instructed the AO to verify if the same loan given to the employees welfare trust in A.Y 2008-09 continued in A.Ys 2009-10 and 2010-11.
- If verified, the disallowance made on account of interest for both years was to be deleted.

Issue 3: Consequential Relief on Interest Levy:
- The AO was directed to allow consequential relief to the assessee on the levy of interest u/s 234B.

Issue 4: Appeal by Revenue for Relief Amount:
- The Revenue appealed for relief of Rs. 9,09,307, contending the assessee failed to produce necessary evidence.
- The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal due to the tax effect being less than Rs. 3 lakhs, as per CBDT instructions.

Conclusion:
- The Tribunal allowed the assessee's appeals for statistical purposes, dismissed the Revenue's appeal, and provided specific directions for the verification of loan details and consequential relief on interest levy.