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2018 (5) TMI 1162 - HC - Income TaxAddition u/s 40A - excessive or unreasonable expenditure - Deduction from the income of payments of commission made to the Directors/Managing Director of the respondent assessee - Held that - Right of appeal is not automatic. Right of appeal is conferred by statute. When statute confers a limited right of appeal only in a case which involves substantial questions of law, it is not open for this Court to sit in appeal over the factual findings arrived at by the Appellate Tribunal. In the instant case, Section 40A(2)(a) provides that if the officer is of opinion that expenditure to inter alia a Director of a company was excessive or unreasonable having regard to the fair market value of the goods, services or facilities for which the payment was made or the legitimate needs of the business, occupation of the assessee or the benefit derived by or accruing to him therefrom, so much of the expenditure as was considered by him to be excessive or unreasonable would not be allowed as a deduction. There is no yardstick or guideline for judging when the expenditure incurred by the assessee would be excessive or unreasonable. The decision is left to the Assessing Officer. The decision is a subjective decision having regard to the facts of the case. No substantial question of law involved in these appeals.
Issues Involved:
1. Whether the Tribunal erred in law in deleting the disallowance of the claim of the assessee to deduction from the income of payments of commission made to the Directors/Managing Director. 2. Whether the appeals can be entertained under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, based on the presence of a substantial question of law. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Disallowance of Commission Payments: The core issue in these appeals was whether the Tribunal erred in law by deleting the disallowance of the assessee's claim to deduct commission payments made to its Directors/Managing Director. The assessee had paid substantial profit commissions to its Chairman cum Managing Director, which were disallowed by the Assessing Officer under Section 40A(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, on the grounds of being excessive or unreasonable. The Assessing Officer's disallowance was based on several factors, including the significant increase in sales due to market changes and the influence of the Chairman on the Board's decisions. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) overturned the disallowance, emphasizing that the Assessing Officer must consider the fair market value of the services rendered, the benefit accrued to the assessee, and the legitimate needs of the business from the standpoint of a prudent businessman. The Appellate Commissioner held that the profit commission was reasonable and aligned with the legitimate needs and benefits derived by the assessee. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal upheld the Appellate Commissioner's decision, concurring that the profit commission paid was neither unreasonable nor excessive. The Tribunal's finding was based on facts, and it dismissed the Revenue's appeals. 2. Substantial Question of Law under Section 260A: The appeals were scrutinized under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, which allows appeals to the High Court from orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal if the case involves a substantial question of law. The High Court highlighted that not only must there be a question of law, but it must also be substantial. The Court referred to precedents, including the Supreme Court's rulings in Sir Chunilal V. Mehta & Sons Ltd. vs Century Spg. & Mfg. Co. Ltd. and Hero Vinoth Vs. Seshammal, to elucidate the criteria for determining when a question of law is substantial. A substantial question of law must be debatable, not previously settled, and must have a material bearing on the case's decision. In this case, the High Court found that the appeals did not involve any substantial question of law. The decision to disallow the commission payments was a subjective one made by the Assessing Officer based on the facts of the case. The High Court emphasized that it could not sit in appeal over the factual findings of the Appellate Tribunal when no substantial question of law was involved. Conclusion: The High Court concluded that there was no substantial question of law in these appeals, and thus, they were not entertained. The appeals were dismissed, along with the connected miscellaneous petitions.
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