2023 (2) TMI 913 - AT - Income Tax

Disallowance of interest paid - Interest free advances - AO made the disallowance alleging that on one hand the assessee has given interest free advances and on the other hand, it is claiming interest expenditure on unsecured loans taken - HELD THAT - Sale consideration has been received but payments have not been made to the sundry creditors, cannot be questioned by the revenue authorities and the same depends on the credit limit available for making payments to the sundry creditors and the time of receiving amount from sale of goods and one cannot ignore the situation if sales are realised in much less period and assessee is left with sufficient time to pay the sundry creditors and during this gap, assessee is possessed with surplus funds, which can be used for other business purposes. Since details have been placed before us, which are part of the audited financial statements and remain uncontroverted, we are inclined to hold that the assessee has sufficient interest free funds available to give interest free funds and, therefore, the ld. CIT(A) was not justified in confirming the disallowance of interest expenditure - Appeal of assessee allowed.

Summary

Issues:
Disallowance of interest paid of Rs.11,74,989/-

Analysis:
The appeal was filed by the assessee against the order of the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for the Assessment Year 2012-13. The main issue raised in the appeal was the disallowance of interest paid amounting to Rs.11,74,989/-. The assessee, a private limited company engaged in manufacturing jute goods, declared income of Rs. 13,31,340/- and was selected for scrutiny. The Assessing Officer noted that the assessee had given interest-free loans and advances of Rs. 8,92,75,354/- while paying interest of Rs.11,74,986/- on unsecured loans. The Assessing Officer concluded that the interest expenditure deserved to be disallowed due to the difference between borrowed funds and advanced funds.

The assessee appealed to the CIT(A) but was unsuccessful, leading to the appeal before the Tribunal. The assessee argued that it had sufficient interest-free funds available to justify giving interest-free loans and advances. The financial statements for the relevant year showed interest-free funds of Rs.25.98 Crores at year-end. The Tribunal considered the arguments of both parties and examined the details provided by the assessee regarding interest-free funds, which included share capital, reserves, trade payables, and other liabilities. The Tribunal noted that the trade payables constituted a major portion of the interest-free funds, indicating that the funds were available due to the credit period available for payments to creditors.

After analyzing the details and submissions, the Tribunal held that the assessee indeed had sufficient interest-free funds to support the giving of interest-free loans and advances. Therefore, the disallowance of interest expenditure of Rs.11,74,989/- was deemed unjustified. The Tribunal reversed the decision of the CIT(A) and allowed all grounds raised by the assessee, ultimately allowing the appeal.