2016 (4) TMI 72 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance of sundry expenses - Held that - Expenses claimed by the assessee are nominal and incurred under the head telephone, conveyance refreshment and tours expenses etc. Since the assessee was in the business of statue making and for that purposes all these expenses are required to be incurred and going by the nature of these expenses, it is very difficult for the assessee to maintain the vouchers of each items of tea, coffee, refreshments, conveyance etc. In view thereof, we do not find any justification to disallow the expenses. In the light of the above, the order of ld. CIT (A) is set aside and all the expenses claimed by the assessee are allowed. - Decided in favour of assessee Interest earned on NSCs taxed - Held that - The reasoning given by the ld. CIT (A) is in accordance with law. The NSC along with interest are required to be included in the return of income in the year when it become matured. That should be the year when the income is required to be taken into consideration. Since in the present case the NSCs were due way back on the date of maturity, therefore, the interest earned on the said NSCs are required to be added to the income of the assessee in the current assessment year. However, the amount of investment i.e. ₹ 55,000/-, is not required to be added in the year under consideration. - Decided against assessee

Summary

Issues Involved:
- Disallowance of sundry expenses for multiple assessment years
- Disallowance of interest on NSC for specific assessment years
- Telescoping, recycling, and set off of income

Analysis:

Disallowed Sundry Expenses:
The appeals were filed against the disallowance of sundry expenses for various assessment years. The CIT (A) upheld 1/4th of the disallowances made by the AO. The CIT (A) reasoned that while it is fair to disallow expenses that are not fully justified, considering the nature of the business activities, expenses are necessary. The tribunal set aside the CIT (A)'s order, stating that the claimed expenses were nominal and essential for the business, such as telephone, conveyance, refreshment, and tours expenses. The tribunal found no justification to disallow the expenses and allowed all the expenses claimed by the assessee.

Interest on NSC Disallowance:
Regarding the disallowance of interest on NSC, the AO added the interest earned on NSCs to the income of the assessee for the relevant assessment years. The CIT (A) confirmed the AO's order, stating that the appellant failed to prove that the accrued interest on NSCs was included in the returns. The tribunal agreed with the CIT (A)'s reasoning, emphasizing that interest earned on NSCs should be included in the income when matured. The tribunal dismissed the appeal against the addition of interest on NSC for the specific assessment year.

Telescoping and Set Off of Income:
The assessee sought the benefit of set off/telescoping of various additions made by the AO. The tribunal directed the AO to provide the benefit of set off/telescoping of additions, deciding this ground in favor of the assessee. As a result, the appeals were partly allowed for the relevant assessment years.

In conclusion, the tribunal addressed the issues of disallowance of sundry expenses, interest on NSC, and set off of income in the appeals filed by the assessee. The tribunal overturned the disallowance of sundry expenses, upheld the addition of interest on NSC, and directed the AO to allow the benefit of set off/telescoping of additions. The judgment was pronounced on 12/02/2016 by the ITAT Jaipur.