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TMI Blog2017 (11) TMI 1558X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the assessee. As per the learned Departmental representative, the said judgment was in relation to primary agricultural credit societies registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, whereas the assessee here was not such a society. According to the learned Departmental representative, the assessee was a multi State co-operative society and did not have any income which was eligible for deduction under section 80P of the Act. The contention of the learned Departmental representative was that the assessee was functioning like a commercial bank and they also provided non-agricultural credit. Hence according to him it was not eligible for deduction under section 80P of the Act. As per the learned Departmental representative, there was nothing in the byelaw of the assessee-society which limited its power to give loans to only members who were agriculturists. Further as per the learned Departmental representative by virtue of section 80P(4) of the Act, deduction under section 80P(1) of the Act could not be given to any co-operative bank. 4. Per contra, the learned authorised representative strongly supporting the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) submitted th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ers, the whole of the amount of profits and gains of business attributable to any one or more of such activities : Provided that in the case of a co-operative society falling under sub-clause (vi), or sub-clause (vii), the rules and bye-laws of the society restrict the voting rights to the following classes of its members, namely :- (1) the individuals who contribute their labour or, as the case may be, carry on the fishing or allied activities ; (2) the co-operative credit societies which provide financial assistance to the society ; (3) the State Government ; (b) in the case of a co-operative society, being a primary society engaged in supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits or vegetables raised or grown by its members to- (i) a federal co-operative society, being a society engaged in the business of supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits, or vegetables, as the case may be ; or (ii) the Government or a local authority ; or (iii) a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), or a corporation established by or under a Central, State or Provincial Act (being a company or corporation engaged in supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits or vegetabl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al credit society or a primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank. Explanation-For the purpose of this sub-section,- (a) 'co-operative bank' and 'primary agricultural credit society' shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in Part V of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) ; (b) 'primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank' means a society having its area of operation confined to a taluk and the principal object of which is to provide for long-term credit for agricultural and rural development activities." Hence the question boils down to whether the assessee could be considered as a co-operative bank. Nothing was brought on record by the Revenue to show that the Reserve Bank of India declared it as a co-operative bank. Neither was the assessee a primary agricultural credit society nor was it a primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank. The hon'ble Karnataka High Court in the case of CIT v. Sri Biluru Gurubasava Pattina Sahakari Sangha Niyamitha Bagalkot [2014] 369 ITR 86 (Karn) has clearly held that for a co-operative society to be considered as a co-operative bank, it wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an 48 the interest income would be considered only under the head of "business". 8. We have perused the orders and heard the rival submissions. It has not been disputed that interest income earned by the assessee were from deposits placed by it in banks. The contention of the assessee is that such interest should be considered only as part of its business income since the deposits were placed for meeting the requirements of statutory reserves under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. No doubt, the hon'ble apex court in the case of Totgar's Co-operative Sale Society Ltd. (supra) had held that interest received on deposits created out of sale proceeds received from the members not immediately disbursed to such members, was to be considered under the head "income from other sources". However, in the case before us, admittedly, the deposits were not out of sale proceeds from the members of the assessee-society. The Revenue has not rebutted the claim of the assessee that deposits on which interest was earned was for meeting investment requirement on statutory reserves under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. Clearly it was out of compulsions of busi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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