2015 (2) TMI 282 - AT - Income Tax

Bad debts disallowed - Held that - Restore this issue to the file of the Assessing Officer for the limited purpose of verifying as to whether the relevant debts claimed as bad have actually been written off by the assessee in the books of account for the year under consideration as irrecoverable. If it is found on such verification that the relevant bad debts have actually been written off as irrecoverable by the assessee, the Assessing Officer is directed to allow the claim of the assessee for bad debts to that extent. The Assessing Officer shall accordingly redecide this issue in accordance with law and after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee. - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes. Disallowance to be made on account of bad debts, while calculating the book profit of the assessee company under S.115JB - MAT provisions - Held that - Disallowance can be made on account of bad debts written off either while computing the income of the assessee under the normal provisions of the Act or even for computing the book profit of the assessee under S.115JB of the Act. On the other hand, if it is found that the amount in question represented only the provision made by the assessee for bad and doubtful debts, without actually writing off the relevant debts as irrecoverable in the books of account, the same is liable to be disallowed and added back while computing the book profit of the assessee under S.115JB, as per clause (i) of Explanation 1 under S.115JB, being the amount set apart as provision for diminution in the value of the asset. We therefore, restore this issue also to the file of the Assessing Officer for deciding the same afresh in accordance with law after giving sufficient opportunity of hearing to the assessee. - Decided in favour of Revenue for statistical purposes. 100% depreciation on assets whose value is below ₹ 5000/- - Held that - It is not a case of granting 100% depreciation on assets having value below ₹ 5,000 as made out by the Revenue in its ground. As a matter of fact, the case of the assessee before the learned CIT(A) was that the amount in question represented small spares worth less than ₹ 5,000 purchased during the year under consideration, and the learned CIT(A) directed the Assessing Officer to verify this claim of the assessee and allow appropriate relief. Revenue thus, cannot be said to have any grievance on this issue arising from the impugned order of the learned CIT(A), as projected in ground No.3, and there being no infirmity in the impugned order of the learned CIT(A) on this issue, we find no merit in ground No.3 raised by the Revenue. - Decided against revenue.

Summary

Issues involved:
- Cross appeals for assessment year 2008-09 regarding disallowance of bad debts.
- Cross appeals for assessment year 2009-10 concerning disallowance of bad debts and fixed assets written off.

Analysis:
- Cross Appeals for Assessment year 2008-09:
- The appeals involved a dispute over the disallowance of bad debts totaling Rs. 108.28 crores, with the Assessing Officer disallowing the entire amount, and the CIT(A) restricting it to Rs. 89.45 crores.
- The company, engaged in power distribution, claimed the provision for doubtful debts under "Other Expenses," citing wheeling charges and LT arrears as reasons.
- The CIT(A) held that wheeling charges were recoverable but allowed LT arrears as bad debt due to being outstanding for over five years.
- The Tribunal referred to the TRF Limited case, stating that the assessee need not prove irrecoverability but only write off debts in accounts. The issue was remanded to verify if bad debts were written off.

- Cross Appeals for assessment year 2009-10:
- The appeals revolved around the disallowance of Rs. 60.77 crores for bad debts, similar to the previous year, with the Tribunal following the same approach as in 2008-09.
- The Revenue raised grounds related to MAT provisions, depreciation on assets below Rs. 5000, and general errors in the CIT(A)'s order.
- The Tribunal remanded the bad debts issue to verify write-offs, affecting both normal income computation and book profit under S.115JB.
- The Revenue's claim of granting 100% depreciation on assets below Rs. 5000 was dismissed as the CIT(A) had directed verification and allowance for small spares.
- Ultimately, the Tribunal allowed the assessee's appeal for 2009-10 and partly allowed the Revenue's appeal for statistical purposes.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed cross appeals for the assessment year 2008-09 and granted relief in favor of the assessee for 2009-10 while partially allowing the Revenue's appeal. The judgments emphasized the need to verify actual write-offs for bad debts and addressed specific grounds raised by the parties, ensuring compliance with legal provisions and precedents.