9911796707
TMI Blog2022 (12) TMI 1495X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... no capital work-in-progress in respect of such loans borrowed - HELD THAT:- As decided in own case in [ 2020 (10) TMI 1021 - ITAT AHMEDABAD] wherein CIT(A) directed to verify the certificate filed during the appellate proceedings that the loans on which guarantee fees was paid were utilized for construction of power plants at that time and there was no capital work-in-progress in respect of such loans during the Financial Year 2014-15. Both the assessee counsel as well as the Ld. D.R. could not place on record what is the giving effect order passed by the A.O. thereafter, pursuant to the direction of the Ld. CIT(A). Therefore this ground no. 2 is also set aside to the Assessing Officer for proper verification and adjudication. Disallowance u/s 14A r.w.r. 8D while determining the income under the provisions of MAT - HELD THAT:- As this case is already remanded back to the Assessing Officer for verification for the earlier two issues under consideration for the Assessment Year 2015-16, this issue is also remanded back to the Assessing Officer for verification of the same and allow the submission of the assessee, if the same is found to be is in order X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ench in the case of Gujarat State Energy Generation Ltd. in ITA No. 1777/Ahd/2009 for the Assessment Year 2006-07 has given relief to the assessee by holding that disallowance made u/s. 14A is not required to add back to the book profit. However the Ld. CIT(A) issued a direction to the Assessing Officer to include the dividend income while computing book profit. 4. Aggrieved against these additions, the assessee is in appeal before us raising the following Grounds of Appeal: 1.0 The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) erred in law and on facts has held to consider the interest on loans raised by erstwhile GEB for the purpose of disallowance under section 14A of the I T Act, 1961. It is submitted that the disallowance is uncalled for and be directed to be deleted. 1.1 The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) further erred in law and on facts has held that in the event the disallowance under section 14A of the Act computed as per the directions comes out to be lesser than the dividend income, then such dividend income shall be treated as taxable income. 1.2 The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) also erred in law and on facts has not given any find ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fore, assessee has raised the ground against the sustained addition of Rs.61.46 crores whereas Revenue has challenged the deletion of Rs.91 crores out of the disallowance u/s 14A of the Act. 10. In ITA No.1874/Ahd/2010 vide its order dated 20.6.2014 the Tribunal adjudicated the issue relating to disallowance u/s 14A and held as under :- 7. We have heard the rival submissions and perused the orders of lower authorities and materials available on record. The undisputed facts of the case are that the Assessing Officer found that the assessee has earned tax free dividend income of Rs 1283.95 lakhs and that the assessee has claimed interest expenditure of Rs 18,325.41 lakhs. The assessee has not attributed any expenditure towards earning of exempt dividend income. Therefore, by invoking the section 14A read with Rule 8D he made disallowance of Rs 197.80 crores. We find that a similar issue had come up before this Tribunal in assessee's own case in the immediately preceding Assessment Year 2006-07 wherein the Tribunal restored the matter back to the file of the Assessing Officer for adjudication afresh by observing as under: "2. At the outset, our attention has been drawn on an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... owing bifurcation. (Rs. in lacs) Particulars Amount Interest on Term Loans 8981.35 Working Capital 8184.50 Others 677.63 Bank Charges & Guarantee Fees 591.65 19435.13 Less: Interest Capitalized 74.54 19360.59 4.1 At the same time, it was also found by the AO that the assessee had made the investment of Rs.5,47,709.74 lacs on which dividend earned was at Rs.508.18 lacs. The AO's objection was that on one hand the assessee has diverted the huge funds towards such investment having exempted income and on the other hand borrowed huge funds of Rs.3,46,272.51 lacs on which claimed interest of Rs. 19360.59 lacs. Therefore, the AO was of the view that the assessee had diverted the borrowed funds for earning exempted income. The assessee's contention was that the investment during the year was only Rs.102.32 lacs and rest of the investment was made in the earlier years. According to the AO, if the assessee had not made such investment either in the year under consideration or in earlier years then the assessee would not have been required to borrow interest bearing loans. The AO has placed reliance upon the case of H.R Sugar Factory, 187 ITR 366 (Aid) for the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eted." 6. With this factual background, we have heard both the sides. Learned DR has primarily placed reliance on a decision of respected Special Bench of ITAT Mumbai in the case of ITO V/s. Daga Capital Management Pvt. Ltd., 117 ITD 169 (Mum) (SB). Learned DR has also pleaded that in one of the assessment year, i.e., in A.Y. 2007-08 learned CIT(A) had sustained the same nature of addition. From the facts of the case, we have noted that there was re-structuring according to which erstwhile GEB was demerged into seven different companies. Post restructuring; the assessment year under consideration is the first year of operation of the assessee company. On one hand, those were the facts which were relied upon by the learned CIT(A). However, on the other hand, the AO has reproduced some of the replies of the assessee through which it was claimed that the said investment was not made by the assessee company out of the borrowed funds but from the consumers, contribution and subsidiaries. There was a reference of the annual accounts of the year 2005-06. The assessee has also informed that during the year under consideration the assessee company had invested only a sum of Rs.11.25 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the correctness of the claim. Whether the interest on term loans, bank charges and guarantee fees were in respect of the business of the assessee. Thereafter, the AO is also required to give a clear finding about the borrowings made by the assessee on which the said interest was paid. The next step is that the AO has to examine the sources of the funds which were invested for earning the dividend income. If the source of such investment is out of the interest bearing borrowings, then only the question of disallowance of interest would arise, otherwise not. On the other hand, the claim of the assessee is that there were sufficient non interest bearing reserves or surplus available. The AO is required to investigate the correctness of the claim that whether the assessee had sufficient non interest bearing fund available and in what form those were utilized by the assessee. If the assessee is in a position to demonstrate that the non-interest bearing funds have actually been invested to earn exempted income then the assessee's claim is legally correct. Thereafter, the question of the invocation of Section 14A comes into play. As far as the applicability of the decision of Special ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntemplated U/s. 14A of the I.T. Act, 1961. It has also been directed that the Assessing Officer can adopt a reasonable basis for effecting the apportionment. It has also been observed by the Hon'ble Court that while making that determination, the Assessing Officer should provide a reasonable opportunity to the assessee of producing its accounts and material having a bearing on the facts and circumstances of the case. 6.1. In this judgement at the end, the Hon'ble Court has also recapitulated the conclusion and pronounced that a finding is required whether the investment in shares is made out of own funds or out of borrowed funds. A nexus is required to be established between the investments and the borrowings. In section 14A of the Act expenditure incurred in relation to exempted income is to be disallowed only if the Assessing Officer is satisfied with the expenditure claimed by the assessee pertaining to the said exempt income. Rather, the Court was very specific that in case, no such exercise was carried out by the Assessing Officer then the matter is to be remanded back for afresh investigation. It has also been made clear that the proviso to section 14A of the Act w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that under Section 14A(1) it is for the Assessing Officer to determine as to whether the assessee had incurred any expenditure in relation to the earning of income which does not form pan of the total income under the Act and if so to quantify the extent of the disallowance. The Assessing Officer would have to arrive at his determination after furnishing an opportunity to the assessee to produce its accounts and to place on the record all relevant material in support of the circumstances which are considered to be relevant and germane. For this purpose and in light of our observations made earlier in this section of the judgment, we deem it appropriate and proper to remand the proceedings back to the Assessing Officer for a fresh determination. Conclusion: 74. Our conclusions in this judgment are as follows; i) Dividend income and income from mutual funds falling within the ambit of Section 10(33) of the Income Tax Act 1961, as was applicable for Assessment Year 2002-03 is not includible in computing the total income of the assessee. Consequently, no deduction shall be allowed in respect of expenditure incurred by the assessee in relation to such income which does not form pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aterial having a bearing on the facts and circumstances of the case." 6.4 Due to the decision of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, it is legally correct to refer this issue back to the stage of the AO to be decided de novo as per the guidelines of the Hon'ble Court. The outcome of the above discussion is that the "Additional Ground" raised by the Revenue may be treated as allowed but only for statistical purpose." 8. In the absence of any distinguishing features pointed out by the Departmental Representative, facts being identical, respectfully following the precedent we restore this issue back to the file of the Assessing Officer for adjudication afresh with the same directions as given by the Tribunal in the Assessment Year 2006- 07 in the above quoted order. Needless to mention that he shall allow reasonable and proper opportunity of hearing to the assessee before adjudicating the issue. Thus, this ground is allowed for statistical purpose. 11. We further observe that Rule-8D of the IT Rules came into effect from Asst. Year 2008-09 with respect to provisions of section 14A of the Act which reads as follows :- Sec. 14A. Expenditure incurred in rela ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that the expenditure in relation to income which does not form part of the total income shall be the aggregate of the following amounts : (a) The amount of expenditure directly relating to income which does not form part of total income. (b) In the case of interest on borrowed funds which is not directly attributable to any particular income or receipt, the amount computed in accordance with this following formula : A x B C A = Amount of interest, other than the amount of interest which is directly attributable to the exempt income stated in (a) above. B = The average of value of investment, income from which does not or shall not form part of the total income, as appearing in the balance sheet of the assessee, on the first day and the last day of the relevant accounting year. C = The average of total assets as appearing in the balance sheet of the assessee, on the first day and the last day of the relevant accounting year. The term 'Total Assets' means total assets as appearing in the balance sheet excluding the increase on account of revaluation of assets but including the decrease on account of revaluation of assets. (c) An amount equal to ½ % of the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er to examine the facts and figures of the case in the light of our observations made above in order to arrive at a final conclusion as to whether disallowance u/s 14A is to be made and if so, then the amount thereof which in no case should exceed the exempted income earned by assessee during the year under appeal. It is needless to mention that ld. Assessing Officer shall allow reasonable and sufficient opportunity of hearing to the assessee before adjudicating the same. These grounds of assessee and the Revenue are allowed for statistical purposes. 15. Now we take ground no.3 of assessee's appeal which reads as below :- 3.0 The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) has erred in law and on facts in confirming the enhancement of Book Profit computed under section 115JB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 by Rs.61,45,72,000/- on account of disallowance made under section 14A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 16. At the outset ld. AR submitted that this ground relates to the disallowance under section 14A of the Act due to which book profit u/s 115JB was enhanced by ld. Assessing Officer and the fate of this ground depends on the decision to be taken for ground no.1 raised by them ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nch in the case of Gujarat Energy Transmission Corpn. Ltd. (supra), wherein similar issue regarding the claim of guarantee fees paid to Government of Gujarat has been dealt with by the Tribunal as to whether the guarantee fees is an expenditure of capital in nature or revenue in nature and has observed as under :- 35. We find that the Tribunal in its order dated 8.5.2015 cited supra has held as under: "6. We have heard the rival submissions, perused the material available on record and gone through the orders of the authorities below. We find that the ld.CIT(A) decided these issues in paras- 5.2 & 5.3 and 6.2 respectively by observing as under:- "5.2. I have considered the submissions of the ld.AR and the facts of the case. The issue relating to whether an item of expenditure lies in the capital or the revenue field has exercised the courts in numerous cases. From an analysis of such cases a few guiding principles/tests can be identified. One of the important tests for categorizing any expenditure as capital in nature is whether the laying out of the impugned expenditure results in the acquisition of creation of any new asset. Where no such asset is created, it w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mpany and payment of consultancy charges was made on ground of commercial expediency. In India Cements Ltd. vs. CIT, 60 ITR 52, the Supreme Court had also held that the expenditure incurred for securing the use of money for a certain period was revenue expenditure. In the instant case, the assessee has secured the loan by creating a charge (hypothecation of its assets). Hence the ratio of the above mentioned two cases would squarely apply. Accordingly, it is held that the AO was not justified in making the disallowance of Rs.45,24,582/-, which is directed to be deleted." 6.1 The ld.CIT(A) has followed the decision of the Tribunal passed in ITA No.738/Ahd/2009 for AY 2006-07 in the case of Himalaya Machinery Pvt. Ltd., dated 5.6.2009 and in the case of Shri Rama Multi Tech vs. ACIT reported at 92 TTJ 568. 6.2. The ld.CIT-DR could not distinguish the facts of the case, therefore we do not see any reason to interfere with the order of the ld. CIT(A), same is hereby upheld. Thus, these two grounds raised in the Revenue's appeal are rejected." 36. DR could not point out any good reason as to why the above quoted order of the Tribunal should not be followed for the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ned CIT (A) to verify the claim of the assessee whether such guarantee fees relates to the capital work in progress for the Assessment Year 2008-09. But the assessee for the year under consideration has challenged the direction of the Learned CIT (A) to verify whether such guarantee fee relates to the capital working progress. As the assessee did not challenge such direction of the Learned CIT(A) for the assessment Year 2008-09 before the ITAT, it implies that such direction has reached to its finality for that assessment year. Therefore, there was no dispute for the ITAT for the Assessment Year 2008-09 for the direction issued by the Learned CIT(A). Accordingly, it cannot be inferred that the order of the Learned CIT(A) for the Assessment Year 2008-09 has merged with the order of the Learned ITAT insofar the direction issued by the Learned CIT(A) to verify the claim of the assessee for the guarantee fees whether such fees relates to the capital work in progress. Accordingly, it cannot be said that the issue raised by the assessee is a covered issue by the order of the ITAT in the own case of the assessee for the Assessment Year 2008-09 as contended by the ld. AR for the assessee. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
