2014 (5) TMI 310 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal upholds CIT(A) decision on interest disallowance, dismissing department's appeal -10

AClT, Circle 10 (1) New Delhi Versus DARCL Logistics Ltd. (Formerly Delhi Assam Roadways Corpn. Ltd.)

The Tribunal upheld the Ld. CIT (A)'s decision to delete the disallowance of interest amounting to Rs.22,92,332 under Section 14A read with Rule 8D for ... Restriction of disallowance u/s 14A r.w. Rule 8D of the Rules – Earning of exempt income - Investment in shares and securities - Held that:- All the facts were duly taken into consideration by the CIT (A) while reducing the disallowance made by the AO - no disallowance could be made u/s 14A of the Act read with Rule 8D of the Rules - Disallowance of interest to the extent of Rs.22,92,332/- was rightly set aside – revenue has not been able to bring anything to show that the well-reasoned elaborate factual findings recorded by the CIT (A) contain any error whatsoever – thus, the order of the CIT(A) is upheld – Decided against Revenue. Issues:Appeal against disallowance under Section 14A of the IT Act read with Rule 8D of the IT Rules for Assessment Year 2009-10.Analysis:The appeal before the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Delhi pertained to the Department's disagreement with the reduction of disallowance from Rs.24,74,706 to Rs.1,82,374 made by the Ld. CIT (A) for the Assessment Year 2009-10. The Assessing Officer had disallowed expenses under Section 14A of the IT Act concerning the assessee company's investments in shares and securities. The investments included shares of Transrail Logistics Ltd. acquired through the creation of a subsidiary company. The Assessing Officer calculated the disallowance based on the provisions of Section 14A. On appeal, the Ld. CIT (A) reduced the disallowance amount, leading to the Department's appeal before the Tribunal.The Department contended that the Ld. CIT (A) erred in reducing the disallowance correctly calculated by the Assessing Officer as per Section 14A read with Rule 8D. Conversely, the assessee's counsel supported the impugned order. The assessee had received investments generating dividends before the relevant year, with no expenses incurred to earn these dividends. The investments in Transrail Logistics Ltd. comprised old and new investments, with the latter involving the creation of a subsidiary company through asset transfer. The subsidiary company issued equity and preference shares to the assessee, which were acquired using the assessee's own funds. The Tribunal noted the absence of a nexus between borrowed funds and the investments, as well as the company's profitable status and sufficient capital availability.The Ld. CIT (A) considered all relevant facts and concluded that no disallowance under Section 14A read with Rule 8D was warranted. Consequently, the disallowance of interest amounting to Rs.22,92,332 was rightly deleted. The Tribunal upheld the Ld. CIT (A)'s findings, dismissing the department's appeal for lacking merit. The well-reasoned factual findings of the Ld. CIT (A) remained unchallenged, leading to the rejection of the department's grievance. Ultimately, the appeal filed by the department was dismissed by the Tribunal, affirming the decision of the Ld. CIT (A) regarding the disallowance under Section 14A for the Assessment Year 2009-10.