2018 (8) TMI 1962 - AT - Income Tax

Revision u/s 263 - Disallowance u/s 40A(3) or u/s 69C - payments to truck owners - disallowance HELD THAT - CIT(A) holds that no disallowance is warranted u/s 40A(3) but he further goes on to add that since the assessee has failed to explain the sources of said expenditure, addition was confirmed under section 69C. The present proceedings were initiated against the assessee consequent to exercise of jurisdiction by the Commissioner u/s 263. It may be put on record that earlier issue whether there is any violation of section 40(a)(ia) has been decided in favour of assessee; hence the AO took up proceedings for deciding the issue of violation of provisions of section 40A(3) and the same was decided against the assessee. CIT(A) has decided the said issue in favour of assessee but the order of CIT(A) in making disallowance u/s 69C is not warranted. In the present case, since the issue was limited to violation of provisions of section 40A(3) of the Act and hence, we find no merit in the order of CIT(A). Reversing the second part of finding of the CIT(A), we allow the grounds of appeal raised by the assessee.

Summary

Issues involved:
- Disallowance under section 69C of the Income Tax Act
- Disallowance under section 40A(3) of the Income Tax Act
- Failure to provide show cause notice to the assessee

Analysis:

Issue 1: Disallowance under section 69C of the Income Tax Act
The appeal was filed against the order of the CIT(A) upholding the disallowance made by the Assessing Officer under section 69C of the Income Tax Act. The Commissioner initiated proceedings under section 263 of the Act, directing the Assessing Officer to consider the payments to truck owners and disallow them under section 40A(3) of the Act. The Commissioner found that the payments were not allowable due to a violation of provisions. The CIT(A) held that no disallowance was warranted under section 40A(3) but confirmed the disallowance under section 69C as the source of payment was not explained. The Tribunal reversed this finding, stating that the order of the CIT(A) in making disallowance under section 69C was not warranted, as the issue was limited to the violation of section 40A(3) only.

Issue 2: Disallowance under section 40A(3) of the Income Tax Act
The Assessing Officer, after the Commissioner's directions, made a disallowance under section 40A(3) of the Act. The CIT(A) initially held that no disallowance was to be made under this section. However, the CIT(A) later stated that the assessee failed to explain the source of payment, leading to the disallowance under section 69C. The Tribunal found that the Commissioner's specific directions were to disallow the payments under section 40A(3), and the Assessing Officer acted accordingly. The Tribunal allowed the grounds of appeal raised by the assessee, reversing the CIT(A)'s finding on disallowance under section 69C.

Issue 3: Failure to provide show cause notice to the assessee
The assessee raised a ground of appeal regarding the failure of the CIT(A) to provide a show cause notice before maintaining the disallowance under section 69C. The Tribunal did not address this issue specifically in its analysis of the case.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the appeal of the assessee, reversing the disallowance under section 69C and upholding the disallowance under section 40A(3) of the Income Tax Act.