2015 (9) TMI 605 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal limits disallowance under section 14A, rejects AO's additional disallowance due to lack of nexus.

The Tribunal restricted the disallowance under section 14A to the amount voluntarily disallowed by the appellant, deleting the additional disallowance ... Disallowance under section 14A read with Rule 8D - suo moto disalllowance - Held that:- It is seen that the appellant company itself has made the disallowance of expenditure u/s 14A r.w.r. 8D of ₹ 1,39,39,685/. The claim of disallowance made by the appellant company was examined by the AO during the course of assessment. The appellant produced the books of accounts and the evidences, which the ld. Assessing Officer had verified the ld. AO examined the books of accounts, evidences and records of the appellant and verified the voluntary disallowance by appellant u/s 14A of the Act. The AO has not pointed out any deficiency in the books of accounts nor in respect of claim of the appellant u/s 14A of the Act. In other words, the AO has not expressed satisfaction that the appellant’s claim u/s 14A is incorrect, a prerequisite for invoking the provisions of section 14A of the Act. In view of the aforesaid reasoning and findings we restrict the disallowance under sec.14A to be ₹ 1,39,39,685/-. - Decided in favour of assessee. Issues Involved:Disallowance of expenses under section 14A of the Income Tax Act.Detailed Analysis:Issue 1: Disallowance of Expenses under Section 14A- The assessee, engaged in mining activities, filed a return of income declaring a loss.- The Assessing Officer invoked section 14A read with Rule 8D to disallow expenses related to earning exempt income.- The disallowed expenses totaled Rs. 2,27,77,769, including various components specified under Rule 8D.- The assessee appealed against the disallowance, arguing that identifiable expenses for earning exempt income were already voluntarily disallowed.- The appellant claimed that the AO mechanically applied Rule 8D without proper justification or satisfaction.- The AO's disallowance was challenged based on the lack of nexus between certain expenses and the exempt income earned.- The AO's failure to provide reasons for rejecting the appellant's claim was highlighted, citing the requirement for the AO to express dissatisfaction before invoking Rule 8D.- The Tribunal found that the AO did not establish a direct relation between certain expenses and the exempt income, leading to the direction to delete the additional disallowance.- The Tribunal restricted the disallowance under section 14A to the amount voluntarily disallowed by the appellant, i.e., Rs. 1,39,39,685.- The Tribunal's decision was based on the lack of nexus between certain expenses and the exempt income, as well as the AO's failure to provide sufficient reasoning for the disallowance.This detailed analysis covers the issues involved in the legal judgment regarding the disallowance of expenses under section 14A of the Income Tax Act.