2018 (8) TMI 1187 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance of deduction u/s 80P - income earned from the financing activities with the members - allocation of all the common expenses towards interest income only - Counsel for the assessee before us claimed that before disallowing the deduction u/s 80P of the Act in respect of other income as discussed above, the AO should have allowed the claimed of the expenses incurred by the assessee in relation to such other income not eligible for deduction u/s 80P of the Act. In support of his contention, ld. AR submitted that in the identical facts and circumstances, the Hon ble ITAT in the A.Y. 2012-13 in the own case of the assessee has directed to allow the expenses incurred in relation to concern income. Accordingly, the ld. AR prayed before us to give the direction to the lower authorities for allowing the expenses incurred by it in relation to other income not eligible for deduction u/s 80P of the Act. Matter remanded back.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Disallowance of deduction under section 80P of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
2. Allocation of common expenses towards interest income only.
3. Non-granting of exemption under section 80P(2)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Disallowance of Deduction under Section 80P:
The appellant, a Cooperative Credit Society, appealed against the disallowance of a deduction under section 80P of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The appellant claimed exemption under various sections of 80P for its activities, including financing activities with members and other business activities. The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed the deduction for a specific amount, which was confirmed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)]. The appellant contended that the AO should have allowed expenses related to income not eligible for deduction under section 80P. The ITAT, referring to a previous case of the appellant, directed the AO to allocate expenses proportionately between interest income and income from other activities, allowing the expenses incurred by the appellant in earning income not eligible for deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act.

Issue 2: Allocation of Common Expenses:
The appellant argued that the AO should have allocated expenses among all heads of income, not just towards interest income. The ITAT agreed with the appellant, directing the AO to allocate expenses proportionately between interest income and income from other activities. This decision was based on a previous case where a similar allocation was deemed necessary, leading to the modification of the CIT(A)'s findings.

Issue 3: Non-Granting of Exemption under Section 80P(2)(c):
Although the appellant claimed exemption under section 80P(2)(c) of the Act, the AO disallowed it, resulting in the addition of the claimed amount to the total income. The CIT(A) upheld this decision. However, the ITAT allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, directing the AO to disallow the deduction claimed under section 80P(2)(a)(i) for income not eligible for exemption under that section, while excluding the net income from the deduction claimed.

In conclusion, the ITAT allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, directing the AO to allocate expenses proportionately and allow expenses incurred in earning income not eligible for deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.