2015 (10) TMI 13 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance under section 36(1)(vii) - provision of doubtful advance - Held that - Assessee in fact had disallowed both the provision for doubtful debts of ₹ 31,12,318/- and provision for doubtful advances of ₹ 38,54,270/- while computing income for the assessment year 2006-07. Thus, we direct the Assessing Officer to delete the disallowance made in respect of provision for doubtful advance of ₹ 38,54,270/- as the assessee itself had disallowed the amount in its computation. Disallowance of carry forward business loss - Held that - Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) in the last line of the order in para 6.2.2 stated that the ground is rejected. We think it is only an inadvertent mistake of Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) in rejecting the ground. Since he has already directed the Assessing Officer to verify whether business loss of assessment year 1998-99 is carried forward only upto assessment year 2006-07 or not. Thus, we restore this issue to the file of the Assessing Officer with a direction to carry out the observations/directions of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and ascertain as to whether business loss of the assessment year 1998-99 is carried forward only upto 2006-07 and not beyond that period. - Appeal of assessee allowed partly for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues:
1. Disallowance under section 36(1)(vii) of the Act in respect of provision of doubtful advance.
2. Disallowance of carry forward business loss.

Issue 1: Disallowance under section 36(1)(vii) of the Act in respect of provision of doubtful advance:
The appeal was filed against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for the assessment year 2006-07. The main contention was the disallowance under section 36(1)(vii) of the Act regarding a provision for doubtful advance of &8377; 38,54,270/-. The assessee had already added back this amount in its computation of income. The Tribunal noted that the provision for doubtful advance was part of the total disallowed amount of &8377; 69,66,588/-. The Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to delete the disallowance of the provision for doubtful advance as the assessee had already disallowed this amount in its computation for the assessment year 2006-07.

Issue 2: Disallowance of carry forward business loss:
The second issue involved the disallowance of a carry forward business loss from the assessment year 1998-99. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) directed the Assessing Officer to verify whether the business loss for the assessment year 1998-99 could be carried forward only up to the assessment year 2006-07 and not beyond. There was confusion regarding the period up to which the business loss could be carried forward. The Tribunal observed that the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) had inadvertently mentioned that the ground of appeal was rejected, whereas the direction to verify the carry forward period was given. The Tribunal restored this issue to the file of the Assessing Officer with a direction to ascertain whether the business loss of the assessment year 1998-99 was carried forward only up to 2006-07 and not beyond that period.

In conclusion, the Tribunal partly allowed the appeal of the assessee for statistical purposes. The judgment provided clarity on the disallowance of the provision for doubtful advance and the carry forward business loss, ensuring proper assessment and verification by the authorities.