2021 (3) TMI 1045 - AT - Income Tax

Addition on account of income earned on investment of corpus fund - income received from investments and credited to the corpus fund has been credited as per the directions of the Government of India - HELD THAT - Respectfully following the earlier year precedent we hold that amount cannot be treated as income of the assessee as it is a diversion of income by overriding title in view of letter from the Government of India Ministry of Agriculture wherein it has been clearly stated that the corpus fund belongs to the Central and State Government and the interest thereto also belongs to the Government and therefore interest accrued on the corpus fund is required to be added in the corpus fund only. Accordingly the appeal of the Revenue is dismissed. Disallowance u/s 14A - HELD THAT - Once the assessee s income is to be computed u/s. 44 which relates to all insurance business which is a non obstante clause therefore disallowance of Section 14A cannot be made.- Decided against revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Addition of income earned on investment of corpus fund for Assessment Year 2009-10.
2. Disallowance under Section 14A read with Rule 8D for Assessment Year 2014-15.

Analysis:
1. The Revenue appealed against the order by the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for Assessment Year 2009-10, challenging the deletion of an addition of ?8,75,13,000 made by the Assessing Officer on account of income earned on investment of corpus fund. The Tribunal noted that the assessee-company was established to provide financial security in agriculture and elite activities. The Assessing Officer contended that the assessee earned income from investing in corpus funds, not reflected in the P&L account. However, the Tribunal found in favor of the assessee, citing a letter from the Government of India stating that the corpus fund and its interest belong to the government, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal.

2. For the Assessment Year 2014-15, the Revenue raised grounds related to the addition of income earned on investment of corpus fund and disallowance under Section 14A read with Rule 8D. The Tribunal found that the disallowance under Section 14A could not be made as the assessee's income was to be computed under Section 44, which pertains to all insurance businesses and is a non obstante clause. The Tribunal referred to previous orders and held that Section 14A was not applicable to the assessee, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal on both grounds.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the decisions in favor of the assessee for both Assessment Years, emphasizing the specific provisions of the law and the non obstante clause under Section 44 in computing the income of the assessee. The Tribunal relied on legal precedents and the letter from the Government of India to support its findings, ultimately dismissing the appeals of the Revenue for both Assessment Years.