2008 (11) TMI 72 - HC - Income Tax

Assessee who advances loan levies penal interest in case of default assessee s claim for bad debts on ground that it had waived the penal interest and interest received was subsequently written off - there is no any evidence with regard to the write off or with regard to waiver of penal interest matter is remitted to AO to ascertain whether the assessee refunded the penal interest to the debtors and if so relief shall be granted in the year in which such amounts were refunded.

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether penal interest claimed to be waived by the assessee should be allowed as a deduction?
2. Whether the addition made on account of discrepancy in stock should be deleted?

Analysis:

Issue 1: Penal Interest Waiver
The assessee, a State of Tamil Nadu undertaking, claimed to have waived penal interest for two assessment years. The Assessing Officer added the waived interest to the income of the assessee, which was challenged in an appeal. The appellate authority ruled in favor of the assessee. The contention was that the interest was written off following a decision by the board of directors to reduce or waive penal interest in certain cases. The Assessing Officer argued that in a cash system of accounting, there can be no bad debt and requested details which were not provided. The Tribunal had previously directed the Assessing Officer to allow deduction for shortage of stock in the year it is written off. The court remitted the matter to the Assessing Officer to determine if the penal interest was actually refunded to debtors, and if so, relief should be granted accordingly.

Issue 2: Discrepancy in Stock
The second issue regarding the discrepancy in stock was not directly addressed by the court as the Tribunal had already directed the allowance of deduction for shortage of stock in the year it is written off. The court noted that the question framed did not arise based on the Tribunal's order. Therefore, the court did not provide a specific answer to this issue since it was not deemed necessary for consideration.

In conclusion, the court's judgment primarily focused on the waiver of penal interest claimed by the assessee and the treatment of stock discrepancies. The court remitted the matter to the Assessing Officer for further investigation into the refund of penal interest to debtors and directed relief accordingly.