2018 (7) TMI 221 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance u/s. 24(b) - Income from house property - interest payment on the housing loan disallowed for a reason that copy of housing loan sanctioning letter was not furnished by the assessee - Held that - For disallowance against house property income, ld. Authorised Representative has given an undertaking that assessee will produce evidence for interest payments relating to the housing loan if given one more opportunity. Coming to the aspect of interest payment there is an obvious dichotomy between the observations of the ld. Assessing Officer and what is stated by the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). It is not even clear, as to the head of income under which ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) considered the interest. Though it is stated by the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) that assessee had advanced loans to sister concerns, it is also mentioned that assessee did not file any confirmation of the loan creditors. The disallowance was for interest and not for unconfirmed credits - this issue needs a revisit by the ld. Assessing Officer - decided in favour of statistical purposes.

Issues:
Delay in filing appeal, disallowance of interest payment on house property, disallowance of interest payment made by account payee cheques, rejection of interest payment to creditors for lack of confirmation letter, consideration of PAN No. ledger account, initiation of penalty proceedings.

Delay in filing appeal:
The appeal was filed with a delay of one day, and a condonation petition was submitted. The reason for the delay was considered justified, and the delay was condoned, allowing the appeal to be admitted.

Disallowance of interest payment on house property:
The assessee's claim of ?1,26,500/- under section 24(b) of the Income Tax Act against income from house property was disputed. The disallowance was due to the non-furnishing of the housing loan sanctioning letter. The authorized representative argued that the proof for interest on the loan was a mandatory requirement for the claim under section 24(b) and requested an opportunity to substantiate the interest payment against the housing loan.

Disallowance of interest payment made by account payee cheques:
The disallowance of ?7,52,547/- claimed by the assessee against interest receipts was based on loans advanced to related concerns. The authorized representative contended that the loans were given for commercial expediency, and the interest payments should not have been disallowed as the advances were made due to commercial reasons. The Departmental Representative acknowledged the lack of clarity in the assessment order regarding this disallowance.

Rejection of interest payment to creditors for lack of confirmation letter:
The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) rejected the interest payment to creditors due to the unavailability of confirmation letters. The appellant had advanced loans to related concerns without showing any interest receipts for these parties. The disallowance was made as the interest payments were not reflected in the confirmations of the loan creditors.

Consideration of PAN No. ledger account:
The appellant's capital, unsecured loans, and advances to related concerns were analyzed. The disallowance of interest payments was upheld by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) based on the lack of proof for having paid interest on a loan borrowed for house construction purposes.

Initiation of penalty proceedings:
The assessing officer had initiated penalty proceedings, which were one of the grounds taken by the Revenue. However, the judgment did not provide detailed analysis or decision on this issue.

In conclusion, the appellate tribunal allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, setting aside the orders of the lower authorities and remitting the issues of interest payments back to the assessing officer for reconsideration in accordance with the law. The judgment highlighted the contradictions between the assessing officer and the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) regarding the disallowance of interest payments, emphasizing the need for a revisit and fresh consideration of the matter.

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