2021 (7) TMI 836 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance of interest - AO had disallowed the entire interest payment - CIT(A) restricted the disallowance to 50% of the interest payment - HELD THAT - As in assessee s own case for A.Y. 2010-11 and for similar reasons hold that no disallowance of interest is called for in the year under consideration. We therefore set aside the order passed by CIT(A). Thus the ground of assessee is allowed and that of Revenue is dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Disallowance of interest claimed by the assessee.
2. Treatment of declared business loss disallowed by the AO.
3. Treatment of interest received from the Income Tax Department as income from other sources.
4. Restriction of disallowance made by the AO on account of interest on borrowed capital.

Analysis:

Issue 1 - Disallowance of interest claimed by the assessee:
The assessee claimed interest expense of ?3 crore on borrowed funds for the construction of a school building. The AO disallowed the entire interest payment, citing lack of documentary evidence. The CIT(A) restricted the disallowance to 50% based on similar cases from previous years. The Tribunal referred to past judgments in favor of the assessee and allowed the claim, emphasizing that the borrowed funds were utilized for the construction purpose, leading to the disallowance being set aside.

Issue 2 - Treatment of declared business loss disallowed by the AO:
The assessee had declared a business loss of ?5,98,037 for the year, which was disallowed by the AO. However, this issue was not pressed by the assessee during the appeal, leading to the grounds being dismissed.

Issue 3 - Treatment of interest received from the Income Tax Department as income from other sources:
The CIT(A) treated interest of ?1,95,598 received from the Income Tax Department on a refund as income from other sources. This treatment was contested by the assessee, but no further details on the resolution of this issue were provided in the judgment.

Issue 4 - Restriction of disallowance made by the AO on account of interest on borrowed capital:
The AO disallowed a portion of the interest on borrowed capital, restricting it to 50% of the claimed amount. The CIT(A) upheld this restriction based on past practices. However, the Tribunal, following earlier judgments in favor of the assessee and finding no distinguishing features in the current case, set aside the CIT(A)'s order and allowed the full claim of interest, dismissing the appeal by the Revenue.

In conclusion, the Tribunal partly allowed the appeal of the assessee and dismissed the appeal of the Revenue, emphasizing consistency in decisions based on past judgments and the proper utilization of borrowed funds for allowable deductions.