2016 (3) TMI 357 - AT - Income Tax

Addition on account of DCS development expenses - Held that - As decided in assessee s own case one of the objectives of the respondent - assessee is to carry out such activities as may be conducive for the promotion of the dairy industry and improvement and protection of milk animals and in pursuance of the said objective, it has to run technical administrative, financial and other necessary sport to the societies. The respondent - assessee collects milk from its member unions i.e. primary dairy cooperative society (DCS) and sells the milk and milk products to the consumer under its brand name SARAS . For increasing the procurement of milk and protecting the dairy farmers, it has to launch various schemes for inducing more and more milk produces to join the primary dairy cooperative society and for this purpose, it has incurred expenditure and thus, in our view, these expenses are directly related to the business of the respondent - assessee and incurred for commercial expediency. It is also a finding of fact that the respondent - assessee has also charged Cess @ 1% of the sale value from milk unions for which receipts of ₹ 9,12,27,490/- have been offered as income of the assessee and when income has been offered by the respondent - assessee then the said expenditure is certainly allowable as business expenditure. - Decided in favour of assessee

Summary

Issues:
1. Appeal against the order of the ld. CIT(A)II, Jaipur for the assessment year 2005-06.
2. Revenue's ground in ITA No. 739/JP/2013 regarding addition of Rs. 1,30,60,000 on account of DCS development expenses.
3. Assessee's ground in C.O. No.56/JP/2013 challenging the validity of the order passed u/s 147 of the Act.

Analysis:
1. The Revenue filed an appeal against the order of the ld. CIT(A)II, Jaipur for the assessment year 2005-06, while the assessee filed a C.O. raising respective grounds.

2. Regarding the Revenue's ground in ITA No. 739/JP/2013, the issue was the addition of Rs. 1,30,60,000 on account of DCS development expenses. The Revenue contended that these expenses should have been adjusted first out of an unutilized grant received by the assessee. However, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal, citing a judgment of the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in the assessee's own case, which held that the expenses were directly related to the business of the assessee and incurred for commercial expediency.

3. Concerning the Assessee's ground in C.O. No.56/JP/2013 challenging the validity of the order passed u/s 147 of the Act, the Tribunal referred to the decision of the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in the assessee's own case and allowed the claim of the assessee on merit. As a result, the Tribunal dismissed both the Revenue's appeal and the C.O. of the assessee.

4. The Tribunal upheld the order of the ld. CIT(A)II, Jaipur based on the judgment of the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in the assessee's case, which established that the DCS development expenses were allowable as business expenditure. The Tribunal also dismissed the assessee's challenge against the assessment u/s 147 of the Act, following the decision of the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in favor of the assessee.

5. In conclusion, both the Revenue's appeal and the C.O. of the assessee were dismissed by the Tribunal, aligning with the judgments of the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in the assessee's case. The Tribunal pronounced the order on 4.12.2015, upholding the decisions based on the legal precedents cited in the judgment.