2015 (6) TMI 793 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal Partially Allows Appeal on Cash Credits, Interest Disallowance

Mr. Zubin Ranka Versus The Income Tax Officer

The tribunal partially allowed the appeal, addressing issues related to unexplained cash credits, interest disallowance, income sources, journal entries, ... Disallowance for unsecured loans under section 68 - CIT(A) restricted the additions to part - Held that:- CIT(A) actually represented loans and advances given by the assessee and that too in the earlier years and not in the year under consideration. He has contended that these amounts representing advances given thus cannot be added under section 68 of the Act. Although the learned D.R. has agreed in principle with this contention of the Learned Counsel for the Assessee, he has contended that this matter requires verification as the fact that the amounts in question represented advances given by the assessee was not specifically brought to the notice of the Assessing Officer by the assessee. Thus remit this issue to the file of the A.O. for deciding the same afresh - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes. Disallowance of interest payment under section 40(a)(ia) - CIT(A) restricted the additions to part - Held that:- The claim of the assessee of having received declarations in Form 15G from all the payees of interest requires verification by the A.O. Since the Learned Counsel for the Assessee has no objection in this regard, we restore this issue to the file of A.O. for deciding the same afresh, after verifying the stand of the assessee in the light of decision of the Tribunal in the case of Vipin B. Mehta (2011 (5) TMI 503 - ITAT MUMBAI ).- Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes. Additions made under income from other sources - In the absence of any interest charged by the assessee on the loans and advances allegedly given for non-business purposes, interest attributable to such advances was added to the total income of the assessee as income from other sources - Held that:- Assessee has invited our attention to the details of such loans and advances as well as the details of interest received to point out that interest on loans given to G.Com Systems amounting to ₹ 9,24,273, L C. Ranka HUF amounting to ₹ 3,65,537, Vinod Ranka amounting to ₹ 11,50,414 and Bhanusa.com amounting to ₹ 11,73,192 was duly charged by the assessee and the same was also offered to tax as income. As regards the remaining loans and advances representing small amounts, he has submitted that the same were mainly given to the employees as well as for some other business purposes and therefore, the addition made on account of interest attributable to the said advances is not sustainable. Thus we restore this issue to the file of the A.O. for deciding the same afresh, after verifying the explanation of the assessee offered before the Tribunal. - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes. Unaccounted sales - Held that:- Assessee has submitted that the relevant six debtors as well as one creditor namely Rajesh Chemical Company were belonging to the same group and a journal entry, therefore, was passed in the books of account squaring off the debit balances in the debtors account against the credit balance of Rajesh Chemical Company. As this entry passed by the assessee in the books of accounts squaring off the debit balances/against the credit balance pertaining to the same group was revenue neutral and there was no justification in adding the amount of ₹ 2,54,729 to the total income of the assessee treating the same as sales duly supported by the ledger account extracts of the concerned parties placed at page Nos. 26 to 32 of the paper book, we find that the explanation on this issue as offered by the Learned Counsel for the Assessee before us was not offered specifically in that manner before the A.O. and in the absence of the same, the A.O. had no occasion to verify the same from the books of accounts of the assessee as rightly pointed out by the learned D.R., thus restore this issue to the file of A.O. for deciding the same afresh - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes. Disallowance of expenditure under section 69C - Held that:- As rightly contended by the learned D.R., the nature of expenses claimed by the assessee such as conveyance, petrol, entertainment, telephone etc., is such that the involvement of personal element in the expenses claimed by the assessee cannot be ruled out and some disallowance out of the said expenses for such personal element can justifiably be made. It would be fair and reasonable to disallow the expenses claimed by the assessee to the extent of ₹ 50,000 on account of involvement of personal element. - Decided partly in favour of assessee. Issues:1. Unexplained cash credits under section 68 of the Act2. Disallowance of interest under section 40(a)(ia)3. Income from other sources4. Unexplained journal entries5. Disallowance of VAT under section 43B6. Disallowance of unverifiable expenditureIssue 1: Unexplained cash credits under section 68 of the ActThe assessee appealed against additions made by the Assessing Officer (A.O.) under section 143(3) for unexplained cash credits. The Ld. CIT(A) restricted the additions, but the assessee further appealed. The tribunal found that the amounts added actually represented loans and advances given in earlier years, not in the year under consideration. The matter was restored to the A.O. for verification, and Ground No.1 was treated as allowed for statistical purposes.Issue 2: Disallowance of interest under section 40(a)(ia)The A.O. disallowed interest under section 40(a)(ia), which was confirmed by the Ld. CIT(A). The tribunal noted that the assessee obtained Form No.15G declarations from payees, exempting them from tax deduction at source. This issue was restored to the A.O. for verification based on the assessee's explanation, and Ground No.2 was treated as allowed for statistical purposes.Issue 3: Income from other sourcesThe A.O. added interest on loans given for non-business purposes to the total income as income from other sources. The tribunal observed that interest on certain loans was charged and offered to tax, while others were for employee or business purposes. The issue was restored to the A.O. for further examination, and Ground No.3 was treated as allowed for statistical purposes.Issue 4: Unexplained journal entriesThe A.O. treated journal entries as sales, adding them to the total income. The tribunal noted that the entries were between related parties and revenue-neutral. However, as the explanation was not presented similarly to the A.O., the issue was restored for verification, and Ground No.4 was treated as allowed for statistical purposes.Issue 5: Disallowance of unverifiable expenditureThe A.O. disallowed a portion of claimed expenses as unverifiable. The Ld. CIT(A) reduced the disallowance, but the tribunal further modified it to &8377; 50,000 due to potential personal elements in the expenses claimed. Ground No.5 was partly allowed.In conclusion, the tribunal partially allowed the appeal, addressing various issues related to cash credits, interest disallowance, income sources, journal entries, and unverifiable expenditures. The decision was pronounced on 18.02.2015.