2016 (9) TMI 116 - HC - Income Tax

Disallowance of deduction under Section 33(1)(iii) in relation to interest paid by the assessee - ITAT deleted the addition - Held that - A perusal of the balance-sheet showed that the capital of the assessee included the profit earned during the year and that, therefore, both the closing capital and the profit earned during the year could not be considered as being available separately for advancing the interest free loans. Even assuming that to be so, it would make no difference. This is for the reason that even otherwise the assessee had sufficient amounts available to him to advance the interest free loan of Rs. 7.37 crores. As mentioned earlier, the assessee had available with him Rs. 11.78 crores on account of capital itself. Moreover, he also had an interest free loan of Rs. 1.18 crores from his wife. The CIT (Appeals) also observed that the assessee had not rebutted the Assessing Officer s contention that he had also made investment out of his capital during the year which exceeded the capital of the assessee. However, Mr. Katoch was unable to invite our attention to any part of the record which established this assertion. He merely relied upon the observation. Further, the nature of this investment is also not indicated. Nor is there anything to indicate that such investment was made out of the capital. There is no co-relation of the investment made and the interest bearing loan and the capital available to the assessee. In these circumstances, the Tribunal s appreciation of the facts to the contrary cannot be held to be absurd or perverse.

Summary

Issues:
1. Deletion of addition on account of deemed dividend
2. Justification for deleting the addition of interest expenditure
3. Commercial expediency of interest free loans to sister concerns

Deletion of Addition on Account of Deemed Dividend:
The appeal in question pertained to the assessment year 2006-2007 and involved the deletion of an addition on account of deemed dividend related to an amount received by the deceased assessee for the sale of an immovable property. The Division Bench upheld the Tribunal's decision to delete the addition, stating that there was no reason to differ with the Tribunal's opinion. The questions raised regarding this issue were held to be no longer relevant, leading to the dismissal of those queries.

Justification for Deleting the Addition of Interest Expenditure:
The significant issue revolved around the deletion of an addition of Rs. 34,00,000 made on account of proportionate disallowance of interest expenditure. The Tribunal had accepted the assessee's submission that he had interest-free capital before providing interest-free advances to sister concerns. The Tribunal found that the assessee had sufficient interest-free capital to make the advances and had used the interest-free loans from reserves. The CIT (Appeals) dismissed the appeal except for certain loans where commercial expediency was established. The Tribunal's decision was upheld as it was based on factual appreciation, and no perversity was found in their conclusion.

Commercial Expediency of Interest Free Loans to Sister Concerns:
The Tribunal concluded that the assessee had interest-free capital available for providing interest-free advances to sister concerns. The Tribunal's decision was supported by the fact that there was no evidence of the assessee using interest-bearing funds for non-business purposes. The Tribunal's analysis of the facts was deemed reasonable, and no absurdity was found in their decision. The CIT (Appeals) also observed that the assessee had sufficient funds available to provide interest-free loans, further supporting the Tribunal's findings.

In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the appeal as it did not find any substantial questions of law arising from the issues discussed. The Tribunal's decisions were upheld based on factual assessments, and no perversity or absurdity was found in their conclusions. The Court found no reason to remand the matter back to the Tribunal, as the decisions were deemed appropriate based on the facts presented.