2018 (3) TMI 1095 - AT - Income Tax

Exemption under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) allowability - interest on the deposits earned in the course of the activity of the Appellant-Society and the income was attributable to the said activity - Held that - If it is found that the facts of the present case are similar to the facts in the case of Tumkur Merchants Souharda Credit Cooperative Ltd. Vs. ITO (2015 (2) TMI 995 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT), then issue should be decided in favour of the assessee. If the facts of the present case are similar to the facts in the case of PCIT and Another Vs. Totagars Co-operative Sale Society (2017 (7) TMI 1049 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT) then the issue should be decided against the assessee. On a specific query from the bench, as submitted by assessee that necessary facts on this aspect are not readily available and there is no finding of any of the authorities below on this aspect. Under these facts, feel it proper to restore the matter back to the file of AO for fresh decision after examining this aspect of the facts of the present case in the light of these two judgments and in the light of above observations. Hence set aside the order of CIT (A) and restore the matter back to the file of AO for fresh decision - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues: Interpretation of Section 80P (2) (a) (i) of the Act, applicability of Supreme Court and High Court judgments, contradiction in judgments, determination of liability for interest income.

In this case, the appellant filed an appeal against the order of the ld. CIT (A) -7, Bangalore for Assessment Year 2014-15. The grounds raised by the appellant primarily revolved around the exemption under Section 80P (2) (a) (i) of the Act for interest on deposits earned in the course of the appellant-Society's activity. The appellant argued that the investments in deposits were as per statutory requirements and not out of surplus, making the interest eligible for exemption. The appellant also cited specific High Court judgments to support their claim and challenged the disallowance as arbitrary and excessive.

The main issue in dispute was whether the interest income was attributable to the business activity of the appellant-Society, thus qualifying for exemption under Section 80P (2) (a) (i) of the Act. The appellant relied on a judgment of the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court in a similar case to support their position. On the other hand, the revenue authorities supported their decision based on a Supreme Court judgment and a later High Court judgment that ruled in favor of the revenue.

The tribunal analyzed the two conflicting judgments of the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court to determine if there was a contradiction. It was found that the conclusions differed due to the varying facts of each case. In one case, the deposited amount was the appellant's own money, while in the other, it was a liability. Consequently, the tribunal decided that the facts of the present case needed to be compared to those in the previous judgments to reach a decision.

Due to the lack of specific findings on this aspect and the need for further examination, the tribunal decided to remand the matter back to the Assessing Officer for a fresh decision. The AO was instructed to consider the facts of the present case in light of the two relevant judgments and provide the appellant with an opportunity to present their case. As a result, the tribunal allowed the appeal filed by the appellant for statistical purposes, setting aside the order of the CIT (A) and initiating a fresh assessment process.