2015 (3) TMI 1334 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance paid by the assessee to ITC Health Club and India Habitat Centre Health Club - Allowable business expenditure - Held that - AR has canvassed that the assessee is a very eminent Doctor and he has taken the membership in order to visit the people who undergo cardio training/exercise at the health clubs and monitor their performance of heart functions in order to ascertain the necessity of cardio exercises for the wellness of heart and also to determine the correlation between the cardio exercise and its effect on the overall health of the people at these health clubs. There is no documentary or any other evidence in support of such pleadings. Assessee s plea is completely baseless and not convincing. Therefore, we are unable to agree with this contention of theAR. The membership taken by the assessee is purely for his personal benefit and it has nothing to do with the profession and business of the assessee. - Decided against assessee. Disallowance of amount actually paid to event management services - amount was paid without deducting the TDS - Held that - This amount for event management services was paid without deducting TDS. Assessee himself had given in writing that amount be offered for taxes. The assessee s submission with regard to offering amount to taxes has in a way restricted Assessing Officer to make further inquiry on these expenses. In these factual matrix of this case, we find that the decision of ITAT, Special Bench in the case of Merilyn Shipping and Transporters vs. Addl. CIT 2012 (4) TMI 290 - ITAT VISAKHAPATNAM is not applicable to the facts of the assessee s case. Therefore, we find no merits on this issue in the assessee s appeal and the same is accordingly rejected. Disallowance u/s 14A r/w Rule 8D - Held that - We find that the expenditure related to the earning of exempted income like STT and brokerage were shown in the withdrawals. The assessee is also having personal drawings of ₹ 27,97,024/- for the year under consideration. All these facts show that the assessee is not debiting the expenditure related to the exempted income in its Income& expenditure account and the revenue has failed to pinpoint any specific instance in this regard. Therefore, we allow this ground of assessee s appeal. Disallowance u/s 14A r/w Rule 8D - direct and proximate nexus between the exempted income and the expenditure claimed - Held that - Revenue has failed to pinpoint any expenditure in the Income & expenditure account. Further, the assessee is incurring such expenses from his personal drawings. Accordingly, this ground of assessee s appeal is allowed.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Disallowance of membership expenses paid to health clubs
2. Disallowance of payment to event management services without TDS deduction
3. Disallowance under section 14A of the IT Act r/w Rule 8D

Issue 1: Disallowance of Membership Expenses to Health Clubs:
The assessee, a Doctor, challenged the disallowance of membership expenses of Rs. 1,25,618 paid to health clubs, claiming it was related to the profession. However, both the Assessing Officer and CIT (A) deemed it as personal expenditure. The assessee argued that the membership was for monitoring heart functions of individuals undergoing cardio exercises. The tribunal found no evidence supporting this claim, dismissing it as personal benefit unrelated to the profession.

Issue 2: Disallowance of Payment to Event Management Services:
The assessee contested the disallowance of Rs. 1,68,000 paid to event management services without TDS deduction. While citing a Special Bench decision, the tribunal noted that the assessee had agreed to offer this amount for taxation voluntarily. As the assessee's submission limited further inquiry by the Assessing Officer, the tribunal rejected the appeal, stating the Special Bench decision was not applicable to the case.

Issue 3: Disallowance under Section 14A of the IT Act r/w Rule 8D:
The issue involved confirming the disallowance of Rs. 3,54,086 under section 14A of the IT Act r/w Rule 8D. The assessee argued that there was no direct nexus between the exempted income and claimed expenditure, relying on a Mumbai Bench decision. The tribunal observed that the assessee did not debit expenditure related to exempted income in the Income & Expenditure account, and the revenue failed to pinpoint any specific instance. Consequently, the tribunal allowed this ground of the assessee's appeal.

In conclusion, the tribunal partly allowed the appeal of the assessee in ITA No.554/Del/2013 and fully allowed the appeal in ITA No.5298/Del/2013. The judgments were pronounced on March 13, 2015.