Tribunal Upholds Interest Grant Decision for 1990-91 Assessment Year

The Tribunal upheld the Ld. CIT(A)'s decision regarding the short grant of interest under section 244A for the assessment year 1990-91. The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's argument that the direction to deduct only the tax element from the refund was contrary to law, stating the assessee is entitled to interest on the refund as per section 244A(1). Additionally, the Tribunal directed the AO to recalculate the interest in line with a previous Tribunal decision on the calculation of tax, with the appellant's ground considered allowed for statistical purposes.

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Issues involved:
- Short grant of interest u/s. 244A

Analysis:
The appeal was filed against an order passed by the Ld. CIT(A-20 Mumbai for the assessment year 1990-91 regarding the short grant of interest under section 244A. The appellant contended that the interest was not correctly computed by the Assessing Officer (AO) and referred to a previous Tribunal order in a group case. The Revenue argued that the direction of the Ld. CIT(A) to deduct only the tax element from the refund excluding the interest portion was contrary to law. The Tribunal dismissed the ground, stating that the assessee is entitled to interest on the refund as per section 244A(1) and that the Ld. CIT(A) did not give any direction contrary to the law. The Tribunal upheld the order of the Ld. CIT(A) in this regard.

Regarding the calculation of interest for the assessment year 1990-91, the appellant submitted that the AO calculated the tax incorrectly, contrary to a previous Tribunal decision in the same group case. The appellant provided a detailed calculation of the interest in accordance with the Tribunal's position. The Tribunal, after considering the submissions, directed the AO to recalculate the interest in line with the previous Tribunal decision. The appellant's ground was considered allowed for statistical purposes, and the order was pronounced accordingly on 22/10/2014.

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