2014 (8) TMI 117 - HC - Income Tax

Reopening of assessment u/s 147 r.w 148 - Details of interest payment to relatives in the Return of income not considered Held that - Tribunal was of the view that the assessee did furnish the relevant information asked for by the AO - the reasonableness of the interest was explained - there was no failure on the part of the assessee to disclose all the facts truly and correctly and held that the reassessment proceedings, initiated after a period of 4 years, required to be quashed and set aside revenue is not in a position to demonstrate how the findings recorded by the Tribunal is arbitrary or perverse thus, when the initiation of the reassessment proceedings itself is found to be illegal and beyond the scope of the relevant provisions of the Act, Tribunal has rightly held that there is no illegality committed by the assessee in paying interest at the rate of 24% to the related parties Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Reopening of assessment and excessive deduction
2. Reasonableness of interest payment to related parties

Issue 1: Reopening of assessment and excessive deduction

The appellant challenged the impugned judgment and order passed by the ITAT, where the Tribunal allowed the appeal by the assessee. The dispute arose from the reassessment proceedings initiated by the AO under Section 147 read with Section 148 of the Income Tax Act. The AO sought to reopen the original assessment after four years, alleging that excess interest was paid to related parties, leading to under-assessment of income. The CIT(A) upheld the reassessment, stating that there was no true and correct disclosure by the assessee regarding the interest paid. However, the ITAT overturned this decision, finding that the assessee had provided all relevant information to the AO as requested. The ITAT concluded that there was no failure on the part of the assessee to disclose all facts accurately, leading to the quashing of the reassessment proceedings. The High Court upheld the ITAT's decision, stating that the reassessment was illegal and beyond the scope of Section 148 of the Act. The Court found no reason to interfere with the ITAT's findings and dismissed the appeal.

Issue 2: Reasonableness of interest payment to related parties

The second proposed question of law revolved around the reasonableness of interest payment to related parties compared to unrelated parties. The AO disallowed an amount paid to relative parties at a higher interest rate of 24% than that paid to unrelated parties at 15%. The CIT(A) upheld this disallowance, deeming the interest payment excessive and unreasonable. However, the ITAT disagreed with this assessment and allowed the appeal by the assessee. The ITAT held that the reassessment proceedings were unjustified as there was no failure to disclose relevant information by the assessee. Consequently, the ITAT set aside the disallowance made by the AO. The High Court concurred with the ITAT's decision, emphasizing that since the reassessment proceedings were deemed illegal, there was no need to delve into the merits of the interest payment issue. Therefore, the Court dismissed the appeal, affirming the ITAT's ruling.

In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the Tax Appeal filed by the Revenue, upholding the ITAT's decision to quash the reassessment proceedings due to the lack of true and correct disclosure by the assessee and finding no illegality in the interest payment made to related parties.