2006 (4) TMI 218 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
Whether payment made to distributor falls within the purview of expenditure incurred to attract the provisions of s. 40A(3).

Analysis:
The only issue in the Revenue's appeal was whether the payment made to the distributor should be considered as expenditure under s. 40A(3). The assessee had leased a theatre and entered into agreements with distributors for screening pictures on a share basis. The AO disallowed a portion of the payment made to distributors under s. 40A(3) as it was not made through crossed cheques. The CIT(A) deleted the disallowance, stating that these payments were distributors' shares and not expenditure. The Tribunal analyzed the nature of expenditure under s. 40A(3) and held that payments made to distributors, in this case, were not considered as expenditure. The Tribunal emphasized that the payments were made in accordance with profit-sharing agreements and did not qualify as business expenditure under the relevant sections of the Act. As the payments were not considered as expenditure, the provisions of s. 40A(3) were not applicable. Consequently, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision to delete the disallowance under s. 40A(3).

In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal, affirming that the payments made to distributors were not to be treated as expenditure under s. 40A(3) and therefore upheld the CIT(A)'s decision to delete the disallowance.