2019 (6) TMI 1573 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance u/s 40(a)(ia) - non-deduction of TDS on payment made to the Markeing Agencies towards sales promotion expenses, payment made to Krishna Clearing Agencies and Maheshwari Enterprise respectively towards Transportation charges and payment made towards consultancy charges - HELD THAT - As decided in SMT. KANTA YADAV 2017 (5) TMI 1565 - ITAT NEW DELHI disallowance u/s 40(a)(ia) to be restricted to 30% of the addition as considered the amended provisions of section 40(a)(ia) of I.T. Act - thus we set aside and modify the orders of the authorities below and direct the Assessing Officer to restrict the addition to 30% of the total addition made on account of deduction of TDS u/s 40(a)(ia) of the Act. - Decided against revenue. Disallowance u/s 14A r.w.r. 8D - HELD THAT - As appellant has submitted that it had earned exempt income in the form of dividend and had suomoto made a disallowance which in any case exceeded the exempt income. Hence, no further disallowance was justified. It is seen in the case of Chudgar Ranchhodlal Jethalal 2015 (4) TMI 437 - ITAT AHMEDABAD has held that the disallowance cannot exceed exempt income. In the facts of the case and judicial decisions in this regard, the addition made by the Assessing Officer is deleted and the disallowance is restricted to the amount of exempt income. - Decided against revenue.

Summary

Issues involved:
1. Disallowance of expenses under section 40(a)(ia) for non-deduction of TDS.
2. Restriction of disallowance under section 40(a)(ia) to exempt income u/s 14A.

Issue 1: Disallowance of expenses under section 40(a)(ia) for non-deduction of TDS:

The appeals by the assessee and revenue were against the same order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the Assessment Year 2012-13. The disallowances made by the Assessing Officer under section 40(a)(ia) for non-deduction of TDS on various payments were confirmed by the CIT(A), leading to the appeals. The assessee sought to restrict the addition to 30% of the total disallowance under section 40(a)(ia), citing relevant judgments, including one from the ITAT Delhi Bench. The Tribunal found merit in the assessee's contentions, following the Delhi ITAT Bench's decision, and directed the Assessing Officer to restrict the addition to 30% of the total disallowance made under section 40(a)(ia).

Issue 2: Restriction of disallowance under section 40(a)(ia) to exempt income u/s 14A:

In this case, the dispute revolved around the disallowance under section 14A concerning exempt income. The Assessing Officer disallowed an amount under section 14A based on Rule 8D, which was further restricted by the CIT(A) to the exempt income earned by the assessee. The assessee contended that the disallowance should not exceed the exempt income, citing relevant judgments, including one from the Jurisdictional High Court. The Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision, restricting the disallowance to the amount of exempt income earned by the assessee. The Tribunal found the CIT(A)'s order in line with the legal principles established by previous judgments and dismissed the revenue's appeal, affirming the restriction of disallowance to the exempt income.

This comprehensive analysis of the judgment highlights the key issues of disallowance of expenses under section 40(a)(ia) and the restriction of disallowance under section 40(a)(ia) to exempt income u/s 14A, along with the Tribunal's decisions and reasoning based on relevant legal precedents.