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2022 (4) TMI 115 - HC - Income TaxDeduction u/s 80P - scope of Section 80P of the Act, which was inserted under the Finance Act, 2006 with effect from 01.04.2007, the assessees, which are the cooperative credit societies, would be entitled to the benefit of Section 80P - HELD THAT - Admittedly, in all these cases, the Assessing Officer has passed the orders of assessment determining the income of the respective respondent/ Cooperative Society and demanded tax. Challenging the said orders of assessment, the respondents have already filed appeals before the appellate authority and they are pending. Therefore, it would be appropriate to direct the respondents herein to raise all the contentions including the eligibility of their claim under section 80P of the Act, in the appeals pending before the appellate authority. The appellate authority is also directed to consider the claim of the respondents/co-operative societies and pass orders, on merits and in accordance with law and also in the light of the decision rendered by the Honourable Supreme Court in Mavilayi Service Co-operative Bank 2021 (1) TMI 488 - SUPREME COURT . Accordingly, the orders impugned herein, shall stand modified.
Issues:
Validity of common order passed by the learned Judge in the writ petitions filed by the co-operative societies questioning the orders of assessment and demanding payment of tax. Analysis: The High Court of Madras heard writ appeals filed by the Revenue challenging the validity of a common order passed by the learned Judge in the writ petitions filed by co-operative societies questioning assessment orders and tax demands. The lead case involved an Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society registered under the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983, which filed a return of income for the assessment year 2016-2017 claiming deduction under Section 80-P of the Income-tax Act. The assessment completed under Section 143(3) of the Act demanded tax while disallowing the claim under Section 80P. The learned Judge disposed of the writ petition after finding the issue covered by a previous judgment of the Division Bench of the Court, which held that the exemption under Section 80P(4) of the Act applies to credit societies. However, an appeal against this judgment was pending before the Supreme Court, prompting the learned Judge to direct a stay on the assessment orders pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal. The Revenue challenged the learned Judge's decision to entertain the writ petitions alongside statutory appeals filed before the CIT (Appeals) simultaneously. The Revenue cited a previous judgment of the Division Bench upholding the applicability of Section 80P to cooperative credit societies. The Supreme Court had permitted the Revenue to withdraw an appeal while leaving the question of law open for consideration. The co-operative societies had also filed statutory appeals pending before the Appellate Authority. The respondents argued that the Supreme Court's decision in a related case emphasized a liberal and reasonable interpretation of Section 80P to benefit the cooperative sector, urging the Appellate Authority to consider this decision while disposing of their appeals. The High Court directed the respondents to raise all contentions, including eligibility under Section 80P, before the Appellate Authority, which was instructed to consider the claims of the co-operative societies in light of the Supreme Court's decision. The impugned orders were modified accordingly, and all writ appeals were disposed of with no costs, leading to the closure of connected miscellaneous petitions.
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