2018 (8) TMI 1548 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance towards commission expenditure - TDS liability - Held that - The very fact that the DCIT(TDS) has issued Nil deduction certificate u/s 197(1) obligates the assessee to make the payment without deduction of tax at source. We hold that the identity of the commission agents are proved beyond doubt in-as-much as the summons issued by the AO on them were duly served on them; they are income tax assessee; certificate issued u/s 197(1) for each of the commission agents by the Income-tax Department; all the commission agents have filed their income-tax returns showing the commission received as income in their respective returns and master data of Registrar of Companies website showing these companies in active category. The payments in commission are made on a monthly/periodical basis based on the clearing of the bills of the assessee pursuant to periodical invoices raised by those commission agents clearly defining the services rendered by them and linking the sales made through them for and on behalf of the assessee. All these payments are made by a/c payee cheques. There is absolutely no iota of evidence to suspect the genuineness of these transactions and there is no case made out by the revenue before us to sustain the order of the ld. AO. - Decided against revenue

Summary

Issues:
Whether the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) was justified in deleting the disallowance of commission expenditure made by the Assessing Officer.

Analysis:
The appeal by the Revenue challenged the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) regarding the disallowance of commission expenditure. The only issue in this appeal was whether the Commissioner was right in deleting the disallowance of ?1,21,52,000 towards commission expenditure. The assessee, a private limited company, filed its return of income for the assessment year 2012-13, declaring total income of ?1,29,17,339. The Assessing Officer disallowed the commission expenditure after issuing summons to the commission agents, who did not appear, and issuing a show cause notice to the assessee, which was not responded to. The assessee contended that the commission payments were genuine and supported by evidence, including the existence of the commission agents and their active status as companies. The payments were made regularly and were necessary for the business.

Before the Commissioner, the assessee provided detailed explanations and evidence to support the commission payments. The Commissioner appreciated the facts and contentions of the assessee and deleted the disallowance. The Revenue appealed, arguing that the assessee did not provide necessary details to justify the commission payments. The Tribunal found that the assessee had indeed filed a detailed reply to the show cause notice, which was acknowledged by the Income-tax Department. The Tribunal also noted that the commission agents had provided certificates under section 197(1) of the Act, allowing for zero tax deduction at the source. The Tribunal found no evidence to doubt the genuineness of the transactions and upheld the Commissioner's decision to delete the disallowance.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the Commissioner's decision to delete the disallowance of commission expenditure, finding no infirmity in the order. The appeal of the Revenue was dismissed, and the order was pronounced in court on 24th August 2018.