2013 (3) TMI 648 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal adjusts profit rate, upholds book rejection under section 145(3), determines final addition.

Shri Naresh Katare, Versus Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax., Circle-3, Gwalior

The Tribunal partially allowed the appeal, directing the AO to apply a 6% profit rate on gross receipts instead of the initially imposed 12.5%. The ... N.P. determination - Held that:- Would be reasonable and proper to apply the net profit rate of 3% against admitted receipts for the purpose of computing the business income of the assessee as against 6% profit rate applied by the ld. CIT(A) without giving further deduction to the assessee. We, therefore, modify the orders of the authorities below and direct the AO to apply net profit rate of 3% against admitted receipt of the assessee and profit would be estimated at ₹ 40,61,505/- and after deducting income declared by the assessee at ₹ 19,20,210/-, the addition would be maintained in a sum of ₹ 21,41,295/-. While taking this figure, deduction claimed by the assessee of depreciation, salary paid to the partners and interest on capital shall be taken care of to which proposition the assessee has also agreed. We may note here that lesser net profit rate is applied in this case for computing business income considering the earlier history of assessee and objections of the AO for inflating expenses and that the assessee earned income mainly from Government and semi-government where profit margin is always lesser. In view of the above, final addition is maintained in a sum of ₹ 21,41,295/- as against addition confirmed by the ld. CIT(A) in a sum of ₹ 62,02,802/-. As a result, the appeal of the assessee deserves to be partly allowed. Issues:1. Computation of income on adhoc basis by the CIT(A) without allowing certain deductions.2. Rejection of books under section 145(3) and computation of income at 6% profit rate.3. Justification of rejection of books and application of profit rate.4. Applicability of reasonable net profit rate and deductions.Analysis:Issue 1: Computation of income on adhoc basisThe appeal was against the CIT(A)'s order computing the income of the appellant on an adhoc basis without allowing deductions like depreciation, interest, and salary to partners. The appellant argued that a suitable net profit rate should be applied, and the CIT(A)'s order was non-speaking and non-reasoned. The CIT(A) directed the AO to apply a 6% profit rate on gross receipts, resulting in a partial relief to the appellant.Issue 2: Rejection of books under section 145(3) and computation of incomeThe AO rejected the books of the assessee under section 145(3) due to defects in vouchers and applied a profit rate of 12.5% on gross receipts. The CIT(A) confirmed the rejection of books but reduced the profit rate to 6% based on comparable cases. The appellant contended that the AO did not follow the procedure under section 144 for estimating income, and the rejection of book results was unjustified.Issue 3: Justification of rejection of books and application of profit rateThe rejection of books was upheld due to specific defects in maintaining vouchers, leading to the invocation of section 145(3) by the AO. The CIT(A) found the profit rate of 12.5% applied by the AO to be excessive and unreasonable based on comparable cases. The Tribunal agreed with the CIT(A) and modified the profit rate to 3%, considering the assessee's history and objections raised by the AO regarding inflated expenses.Issue 4: Applicability of reasonable net profit rate and deductionsThe Tribunal determined a reasonable net profit rate of 3% against admitted receipts, resulting in a final addition of &8377; 21,41,295 after considering deductions claimed by the assessee. The decision was influenced by the assessee's past profit rates, nature of income from government contracts, and objections regarding expense inflation. The appeal was partly allowed based on the revised computation.In conclusion, the Tribunal's decision focused on the justification for rejecting books, applying a reasonable profit rate, and considering deductions to arrive at a fair computation of the assessee's income.