9911796707
TMI Blog1983 (8) TMI 91X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tants. This International Congress was held at Munich (West Germany). The expenses claimed by the assessee in connection with the attending of the said professional conference, were Rs. 13,131, comprising of air-fare from Bombay to Munich and back of Rs. 9,319, Rs. 3,000 conference fees and Rs. 812 being the other expenses directly connected with the conference. The case of the assessee was that the trip to Munich was a part of his professional activity in order to improve his status as a chartered accountant, and thereby ensure a steady and growing inflow of income in future. Hence, the assessee claimed the aforesaid expenses as deduction while computing his professional income on the ground that they were spent wholly and exclusively for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s, the ITO impliedly held that the assessee spent only five days abroad for the purpose of his profession even though in his assessment order, the ITO has stated that the remaining 30 days were also spent for the purpose of the assessee's profession, namely, meeting his counterparts and studying matters relating to his profession. However, in the aforesaid view of the matter, the ITO allowed only a sum of Rs. 1,789 as deduction as against Rs. 13,131 claimed by the assessee. 5. The assessee appealed to the AAC, and contended that his claim should have been allowed in full. The AAC observed that rule 6D stood in the way of allowing the entire claim. However, he held that the assessee should be deemed to have spent 12 days for the purpose of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... opportunity of being in Europe on professional work to achieve more professional work that fact should not have been held against him by the revenue. In any case, the entire period of 37 days should have been treated as spent for the purpose of the assessee's profession so that fraction would have become 37 upon 37. Consequently, the entire expenditure should have been allowed. 7. In this connection, he relied on the departmental Circular No. 4, [C. No. 27(3)-IT/50], dated 19-6-1950 [see Taxmann's Direct Taxes Circulars, Vol. 1, 1980 edn., pp. 230-31] which states that "when once it is established that an expenditure of a revenue nature is incurred wholly and exclusively in the interest of the business liable to tax in India, it should be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s no dispute that the conditions under section 37(1) have been satisfied in this case. The expenses have been incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of the assessee's profession. The expenses were neither capital nor personal in nature. Hence, the expenses evidently are admissible under section 37(1). If that be so, then any rule prescribed under the rule making power delegated under the Act cannot whittle down the aforesaid position. In the case of Century Enka Ltd. v. ITO [1977] 107 ITR 909 the Calcutta High Court held that what is given by the statute cannot be taken away or whittled down by the rules which are framed only to carry out the purpose of the Act. In the case before us, the expenses claimed by the assessee were the m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t is assumed for the sake of argument that the assessee spent the remaining 30 days for non-business purposes, then the expenses wholly and exclusively incurred for his profession amounting to the minimum sum of Rs. 13,131 could not be disallowed because of the authority of Sassoon J. David Co. (P.) Ltd.'s case. The assessee was not claiming any expenses relating to those 30 days. 11. Be that as it may, we find that even on facts, the ITO has himself recorded in his assessment order that the assessee had spent the remaining thirty days in meeting his counterparts in the accountancy profession and studying the methods of accounting, auditing and tax planning prevalent in those countries. Hence, it cannot be said that any portion of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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