2017 (5) TMI 538 - HC - Income Tax

Eligible for deduction under Section 80P - interest income earned on deposits made in commercial banks and interest earned on deposits made in cooperative banks - Held that - The assessee is entitled to claim proportionate or suitable expenditure with respect to the income earned out of the non-exempt income i.e. interest earned from commercial banks. The AO shall carry out the necessary consequential exercise. The appeals are allowed in the above terms.

Summary

Issues:
1. Condonation of delay in multiple ITA cases.
2. Eligibility of deduction under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act for interest income earned on deposits made in commercial banks and cooperative banks.

Issue 1: Condonation of Delay
The judgment addresses multiple applications for condonation of delay in various ITA cases. The court, after accepting notice for the respondent, allows the applications and condones the delay in each case, thereby disposing of the applications.

Issue 2: Eligibility of Deduction under Section 80P
The main issue revolves around whether the deduction claimed by the assessee towards interest income earned on deposits in commercial banks and cooperative banks is eligible under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act. The court refers to previous judgments to analyze the treatment under Section 80P. It notes that the ITAT disallowed the deduction claimed by the assessee towards interest income earned from deposits in commercial banks and cooperative banks. However, the court finds the ITAT's findings unsustainable, especially regarding interest earned from investments made by the Society in other cooperative banks. The matter is remitted for appropriate tax treatment based on the material presented before the Revenue.

Further, the Revenue argued that expenditure towards interest earned from deposits in commercial banks should be distinguished from expenditure towards interest earned from deposits in cooperative banks. The court refers to a previous order and holds that the assessee is entitled to claim proportionate or suitable expenditure with respect to income earned from commercial banks. The Assessing Officer is directed to carry out the necessary exercise, and the appeals are allowed accordingly.