2020 (10) TMI 1051 - AT - Income Tax

Revision u/s 263 - show cause notice issued by Ld. Pr.CIT relating to admissibility of agriculture income - HELD THAT - Assessee as admitting the fact that this issue was not examined by Ld. A.O and Ld. CIT(A) has rightly directed to examine this issue to the Ld. A.O. However direction of Ld. Pr. CIT to the Ld. A.O for framing denovo assessment will not be justified since the additions made in the assessment proceedings u/s 143(3) of the Act has travelled up to the Tribunal, Indore Bench and the additions so made on account of lease rent and disallowance of corporate expenses have been deleted by the Tribunal. On going through the order of Tribunal, Indore Bench in assessee s own case, we find sufficient merit in the contention made the assessee and are of the considered view that impugned order u/s 263 of the Act dated 26.3.2019 needs to be modified and the direction of Ld. Pr.CIT to the Ld. A.O should be restricted only to the extent of examining the issue of admissibility of agriculture income and not to other issues already dealt by the Ld. A.O - Appeal of the assessee decided partly.

Summary

Issues involved:
1. Invocation of provisions of section 263 by Ld. Pr. CIT(A) and setting aside the assessment order for denovo framing.
2. Examination of the admissibility of agriculture income and the correctness of the assessment order by Ld. Pr. CIT(A) under section 263.

Issue 1: Invocation of provisions of section 263 and setting aside assessment order for denovo framing:
The appeal filed by the assessee for Assessment Year 2014-15 challenged the order of the Ld. Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-1 (Ld.CIT(A)) dated 26.03.2019, framed under section 263 of the Income Tax Act. The Ld. Pr. CIT(A) examined the original assessment order under section 143(3) to determine if it was erroneous and prejudicial to the revenue's interest. The Ld. Pr. CIT(A) observed discrepancies in the assessment, particularly regarding the treatment of agriculture income, leading to under-assessment. Consequently, the Ld. Pr. CIT(A) issued a show cause notice and directed the assessment to be framed denovo after finding that the assessing officer (A.O) had not adequately examined the material facts. The assessee contested this decision before the Tribunal, arguing that only the specific issue raised in the show cause notice should be examined, citing a previous Tribunal decision in their favor. The Tribunal agreed with the assessee, modifying the Ld. Pr. CIT(A)'s order to restrict the A.O's examination to the admissibility of agriculture income, rather than a complete denovo assessment.

Issue 2: Examination of the admissibility of agriculture income and the correctness of the assessment order:
The case involved a Madhya Pradesh Government undertaking engaged in forestry and agriculture. The original return of income filed by the assessee showed discrepancies in the treatment of agriculture income. The Ld. Pr. CIT-1, under section 263, noted that the computation of income did not align with the conditions specified in the Income Tax Act, resulting in under-assessment. The Ld. Pr. CIT-1 issued a show cause notice, and upon review of the submissions, concluded that the A.O had not adequately examined the issue, leading to the order being set aside for denovo framing. The Tribunal, upon hearing the arguments, acknowledged that the issue of agriculture income admissibility needed examination but found that the A.O's previous additions, including lease rent and corporate expenses, had been deleted by the Tribunal in a prior decision. Therefore, the Tribunal partially allowed the appeal, directing the A.O to only examine the specific issue of admissibility of agriculture income, as raised in the show cause notice, without requiring a complete denovo assessment.

This detailed analysis of the judgment highlights the key issues, the actions taken by the authorities, and the Tribunal's decision in response to the appeal filed by the assessee.