2013 (2) TMI 422 - AT - Income Tax

Supreme Court remits exemption claim issue to Assessing Officer for proper adjudication

The Supreme Court remitted the issue of claiming exemption under section 80P(2)(a)(i) for interest received from members back to the Assessing Officer for ... Exemption u/s 80P(2) – whether the assessee was entitled to exemption u/s 80P(2)(a)(i) in respect of interest received from the members of the society – Held that:- In order to earn exemption under section 80P(2) a cooperative society must prove that it had engaged itself in carrying on any of the several business referred to in sub-section (2) - society must be engaged in carrying on the business of banking or providing credit facilities to its members – It is required to examine the Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association, returns of income filed with the Department and status of the business indicated in such returns – Issue was restored to the file of the AO – Appeal stands partly allowed for statistical purposes. Issues:1. Claim of exemption u/s 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act for interest received from members.2. Disallowance of deduction u/s 80P(2)(a)(iii) for income derived from marketing agricultural produce of members.Issue 1: Claim of exemption u/s 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act for interest received from members:The case involved appeals for assessment years 1994-95 and 1995-96, remitted back to the Tribunal by the High Court/Supreme Court. The appellant, a Cooperative Sugar Mill, claimed exemption u/s 80P(2)(a)(i) for interest received from members. The Assessing Officer disallowed the claim, but the CIT(A) allowed it based on the Tribunal's earlier decision. The Supreme Court considered whether the appellant was entitled to this exemption. The Court referred to the need for the Tribunal to examine the cooperative society's memorandum of association, articles of association, and returns filed with the Department to determine eligibility for the exemption. The Court directed the matter to be remitted back to the Assessing Officer for proper adjudication in compliance with the law and its directions.Issue 2: Disallowance of deduction u/s 80P(2)(a)(iii) for income derived from marketing agricultural produce of members:The second issue involved the disallowance of deduction u/s 80P(2)(a)(iii) for income earned from marketing agricultural produce of members. The Assessing Officer disallowed the deduction, but the CIT(A) allowed it based on the Tribunal's previous decision. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal related to this deduction, as a similar issue had been decided previously. Therefore, the second issue was resolved in favor of the appellant.In conclusion, the judgment addressed the issues of claiming exemption u/s 80P(2)(a)(i) for interest received from members and the disallowance of deduction u/s 80P(2)(a)(iii) for income derived from marketing agricultural produce of members. The Supreme Court directed a remittance of the first issue back to the Assessing Officer for proper examination following the cooperative society's legal requirements. The second issue was dismissed based on a previous decision. The appeals were partly allowed or dismissed for statistical purposes accordingly.