2021 (9) TMI 1329 - AT - Income Tax

Deduction u/s. 80P(2)(a)(i) denied - treating the Appellant as a co-operative bank - primary reason to deny the benefit of deduction u/s 80P was that the assessee was only registered under the Karnataka Souhardha Sahakari Act 1997 and therefore was not a cooperative society within the purview of section 2(19) - HELD THAT - As decided in case of Swabhimani Souharda Credit Co-operative Limited 2020 (1) TMI 831 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT a society registered under the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari Act 1997 is also entitled to the benefit of section 80P of the I.T.Act the matter is restored to the files of the A.O. The A.O. is directed to examine the claim of deduction u/s 80P of the I.T.Act afresh and decide the issue in accordance with law. Thus we set restore the issue to AO to examine the claim u/s. 80P of the Act as directed by the Tribunal- Appeal filed by the assessee is treated as allowed for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues Involved:
- Denial of deduction under section 80P of the Income Tax Act
- Levying of interest under section 234B and 234C of the Act

Analysis:

Issue 1: Denial of deduction under section 80P of the Income Tax Act
The appellant, a credit co-operative society, filed an appeal against the CIT(A)'s order confirming the Assessing Officer's disallowance of deduction under section 80P of the Income Tax Act, amounting to Rs. 25,10,956. The Assessing Officer contended that the appellant, though registered under the Karnataka Souhardha Sahakari Act, 1997, was not entitled to the deduction as it was considered a co-operative bank, not a co-operative society. However, the appellant argued that based on the judgment of the Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court in a similar case, entities registered under the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari Act, 1997, should be recognized as co-operative societies. The ITAT, relying on the High Court judgment, held that the appellant was indeed a co-operative society and should be allowed the deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act. The matter was remanded to the Assessing Officer for further examination, except for the issue already decided.

Issue 2: Levying of interest under section 234B and 234C of the Act
The Assessing Officer also levied interest under sections 234B and 234C of the Act, which the appellant contested. However, the ITAT's decision focused primarily on the denial of the deduction under section 80P, and no specific ruling or analysis was provided regarding the interest levied. The ITAT's order allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, indicating that the primary issue of deduction under section 80P was the main focus of the judgment, while the interest levied was not extensively discussed.

In conclusion, the ITAT's judgment primarily addressed the denial of the deduction under section 80P of the Income Tax Act, emphasizing the classification of the appellant as a co-operative society under the Karnataka Souhardha Sahakari Act, 1997. The decision provided a detailed analysis based on relevant legal precedents and directed the Assessing Officer to re-examine the deduction claim in accordance with the law.