1981 (8) TMI 103 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
- Disallowance of claims for loss on machinery parts, sale of fixed assets, loose tools, profit on sales of assets, and capital profit set off.
- Discontinuation of business at cotton tape factory leading to inadmissible expenditure.
- Claim for loss under section 32(1)(iii) on machinery and plant.
- Business activities during the relevant accounting year disputed by the Department.

Analysis:
The Department appealed against the decision of the CIT (A) regarding the disallowance of various claims made by the ITO under different heads. The ITO contended that the assessee had discontinued its business at the cotton tape factory, leading to inadmissible expenditure on the sale of fixed assets and demolition. The AAC upheld some disallowances, prompting the assessee to appeal to the Tribunal. The assessee argued that it followed a practice of not writing off the cost of consumable stores but only damaged stores. The Tribunal noted that part of the machinery had become obsolete and unusable, justifying the write-off. The CIT (A) found that some business activities were indeed carried out during the relevant year, allowing most claims. The Department raised a second appeal challenging this decision.

During the hearing, the Department's representative failed to provide substantial support for their argument, relying on observations from a previous year's order. The Tribunal had previously allowed similar claims for the assessee in a different assessment year. The Commissioner (A) thoroughly reviewed the transactions and concluded that the business was operational during the relevant accounting year. The observations cited by the Department did not amount to conclusive findings against the assessee. As no new facts or circumstances were presented, the Tribunal found no grounds to interfere with the decision.

Ultimately, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the Commissioner (A)'s decision to allow the majority of the claims based on the finding that the business activities were indeed conducted during the relevant accounting year.