2012 (11) TMI 8 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance under sec. 40(a)(ia) of the Act - credit for TDS is to be given in the case of the person in whose hands income is taxable and that too in the year in which the corresponding income is taxed - assessee entered into a consortium agreement with 12 other members who are travel agents for booking air tickets through the platform provided by M/s Amadeus Pvt. Ltd. Held that - Assessee did not claim the said amount as expenditure in its accounts, no tax was deducted at source by the assessee - no disallowance could be made in terms of provisions of sec. 40(a)(ia) of the Act - income accrues when the assessee acquires the right to receive the same. The terms of the consortium agreement do not reveal any such right in favour of the assessee - Since the assessee only distributed the income in terms of the agreement and this did not amount to incurring of an expenditure nor the assessee claimed any - disallowance deleted

Summary

Issues:
- Appeal against CIT(A) order regarding addition of Rs.52,22,326 under Section 40(a)(ia) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:
1. Issue 1 - Addition under Section 40(a)(ia):
- The Revenue challenged the CIT(A) order deleting the addition of Rs.52,22,326. The AO disallowed this amount as the assessee did not deduct TDS while paying commission to travel agents, invoking Section 40(a)(ia).
- The CIT(A) held that the amount received from Amadeus India Pvt. Ltd. was not income but collected on behalf of travel agencies. The CIT(A) found that the assessee did not claim deduction for the amounts paid to travel agencies, making Section 40(a)(ia) inapplicable.
- The Revenue argued that since TDS was deducted by Amadeus India Pvt. Ltd., the assessee was obligated to deduct TDS while paying the constituents, and thus, the disallowance was justified.
- The AR contended that the assessee acted as a collecting agency for travel agents under a consortium agreement, distributing commission received from Amadeus. The AR cited legal principles of mutuality and various court decisions to support the position.
- The Tribunal noted the consortium agreement details, where the assessee collected and distributed commission among travel agents without rendering services to Amadeus. The Tribunal agreed with the CIT(A) that the amount was not the assessee's income, as it was distributed to consortium members as per the agreement terms.
- The Tribunal found no infirmity in the CIT(A)'s decision to delete the disallowance under Section 40(a)(ia) and dismissed the Revenue's appeal.

2. General Grounds:
- The Tribunal dismissed the general ground of appeal as no specific submissions were made. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, upholding the CIT(A)'s decision regarding the addition under Section 40(a)(ia).

This detailed analysis highlights the key arguments, findings, and conclusions related to the appeal against the addition under Section 40(a)(ia) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, providing a comprehensive understanding of the judgment.