1994 (5) TMI 43 - AT - Income Tax

Assessing Officer Assessment Order Assessment Year Orders Prejudicial To Interests Sales Promotion

Summary

Issues:
Jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Income-tax under section 263 and merits of the revisional order challenged by the assessee.

Analysis:
The appeal was against the revisional order of the Commissioner of Income-tax under section 263. The Commissioner concluded that the assessment order was erroneous and prejudicial to the Revenue's interests due to inadequate inquiry into specific expenditures. The Commissioner set aside the assessment order for fresh consideration. The appeal was decided ex parte as the assessee did not appear. The learned D.R. supported the revisional order on jurisdiction and merits.

The Tribunal held that for the Commissioner to exercise power under section 263, the order must be both erroneous and prejudicial to Revenue. The order cannot be termed erroneous simply because the Commissioner disagrees with it. Objective facts must exist for revision. The Tribunal cited a case where the Commissioner's revision was not upheld due to lack of objective findings. In this case, the Tribunal found the Commissioner unjustified in invoking jurisdiction under section 263.

Regarding the merits, the Tribunal analyzed specific expenditures. It found that engaging public taxis did not fall under disallowance provisions, as clarified in the Finance Act. Payment of commission and brokerage was considered selling expenses, not sales promotion expenses, based on precedents. The bonus payment at 20% was customary and not found to lack allocable surplus. The Tribunal concluded that the Commissioner's order setting aside the assessment was not justified on both jurisdiction and merit grounds. The appeal was allowed, and the assessment order was restored.

In summary, the Tribunal found that the Commissioner lacked justification to invoke jurisdiction under section 263 and set aside the assessment order. The Tribunal also analyzed specific expenditures, concluding that they were not erroneous in law. The Commissioner's order was overturned, and the assessment order was restored.