2018 (10) TMI 848 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance U/s.14A - exclude the investments made from own interest free funds and the investment which did not earn dividend income while computing disallowance - Held that - We find that with respect to disallowance U/s.14A of the Act, we held that application of Rule 8D is not automatic. If the assessee computes to the satisfaction of the Ld.Revenue Authorities the expenses incurred by it with respect to investments earning exempt dividend then the same should be disallowed. Only when such computation is not possible Rule 8D should be applied for computing the disallowance U/s.14A of the Act.

Summary

Issues involved:
1. Disallowance under Section 14A of the Income Tax Act.
2. Treatment of investments from own interest free funds and those not earning dividend income.

Analysis:
1. Disallowance under Section 14A of the Income Tax Act:
The appeal by the Revenue challenged the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals) regarding disallowance under Section 14A of the Act. The Revenue contended that the Commissioner erred in directing the Assessing Officer to exclude investments made from own interest free funds and investments not earning dividend income while computing the disallowance under Section 14A. The Commissioner granted relief to the assessee based on the judgment that if own funds exceed invested funds yielding exempt income, no disallowance is required under Section 14A. The Tribunal emphasized that the application of Rule 8D for disallowance is not automatic; the assessee must compute and satisfy the Revenue Authorities regarding expenses incurred for investments earning exempt income before Rule 8D is applied. The Tribunal remitted the matter back to the Assessing Officer for further verification and computation.

2. Treatment of investments from own interest free funds and those not earning dividend income:
The Tribunal highlighted the importance of computing actual expenses incurred towards investments earning exempt income for disallowance under Section 14A. It was noted that there is no direct correlation between dividend income earned and expenditure incurred on investments earning exempt income. The Tribunal emphasized that the assessee must determine the actual expenses towards such investments and disallow the same. In the absence of such computation, the Tribunal supported the Assessing Officer's application of Section 14A read with Rule 8D. The Tribunal remitted the matter back to the Assessing Officer, directing a thorough verification and decision in accordance with the law.

In conclusion, the Revenue's appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, and the matter was remitted back to the Assessing Officer for further examination and computation based on the principles outlined in the judgment.