2014 (7) TMI 1038 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance out of interest expenses Business funds diverted to non-business purposes Held that - Assessee was having interest free funds in the form of Share Capital and Reserves aggregating to ₹ 10.79 crores and the advance for purchase of land was ₹ 4.15 crores following the decision in The Commissioner of Income Tax Versus Reliance Utilities & Power Ltd. 2009 (1) TMI 4 - HIGH COURT BOMBAY - if there are funds available both interest free and over drafts and/or loans taken, then a presumption would arise that the investments would be out of the interest free funds generated or available with the company, if the interest free funds were sufficient to meet the investments assessee submitted that the land was purchased out of the amount that was advance to A.D Gravures in earlier years - Assessee had charged interest from A.D. Gravures and the interest was assessed as business income - CIT(A) has deleted the addition there is no reason to interfere with the order of CIT(A) Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against CIT(A)'s order for A.Y. 2007-08 and deletion of interest expenses.

Analysis:
1. The appeal was filed by the Revenue against the order of CIT(A)-VIII, Ahmedabad for A.Y. 2007-08, with the Assessee also filing a C.O. The primary issue revolved around the deletion of Rs. 12,25,417/- out of interest expenses by the CIT(A).

2. The Assessing Officer (A.O) had disallowed a part of the interest expenses claimed by the Assessee, suspecting diversion of business funds for non-business purposes. The A.O found that the Assessee had advanced money to various parties and for land purchase, questioning the need for availing loans when funds were available from share capital. The A.O disallowed a portion of interest expenses as non-business related.

3. The CIT(A) overturned the A.O's decision, emphasizing that the Assessee had sufficient liquid funds from share capital and reserves for land purchase. The CIT(A) noted the lack of nexus between interest-bearing loans and land purchase advances, terming the A.O's addition as hypothetical and baseless. The CIT(A) referred to the decision of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court to support the deletion of the disallowance.

4. The ITAT, after considering the arguments from both sides, upheld the CIT(A)'s decision. The ITAT observed the availability of interest-free funds for the land purchase, as evidenced by the Balance sheet. The ITAT also highlighted the Assessee's past transactions with A.D. Gravures and the absence of contradictory evidence from the Revenue. Relying on legal precedents, the ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeal, leading to the dismissal of the Assessee's C.O as well.

In conclusion, the ITAT upheld the CIT(A)'s decision to delete the disallowed interest expenses, emphasizing the availability of interest-free funds for the land purchase and the lack of evidence supporting the Revenue's claims of fund diversion. The judgment was pronounced on 25-07-2014.