Tribunal Upholds CIT(A)'s Decision on Interest Charge for AY 2008-09

The Tribunal upheld the decision of the ld CIT(A) to delete the interest charged u/s.234B for the assessment year 2008-09. The Tribunal found the decision of the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court binding, ruling that interest can only be charged on the income declared in the return, not on the assessed income. The dismissal of the Revenue's review petition by the Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court further supported the validity of the ld CIT(A)'s order, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal.

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Issues involved: Appeal against deletion of interest charged u/s.234B of the Act for assessment year 2008-09.

Analysis:
1. The appeal was filed by the revenue challenging the deletion of interest charged u/s.234B of the Act by the ld CIT(A). The Assessing Officer had assessed the income of the assessee at a certain amount and charged interest u/s.234B as the assessee had not paid advance tax on the assessed income.

2. The ld CIT(A) directed the Assessing Officer to modify the interest calculation u/s.234B based on the decision of the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court in a specific case, ruling that interest can only be charged on the income declared in the return and not on the assessed income. The revenue contested this decision by filing an appeal before the Tribunal.

3. The revenue argued that it did not accept the decision of the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court and had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, hence the appeal before the Tribunal to keep the issue alive.

4. The assessee, in response, highlighted that the department had filed a Civil Review Petition before the Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court in a related case, citing a different decision by the Hon'ble Punjab & Haryana High Court. However, the Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court dismissed the review petition, upholding the decision relied upon by the ld CIT(A).

5. The Tribunal, after considering the arguments, found no mistake in the order of the ld CIT(A). It noted that the decision of the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court was valid and binding as the SLP filed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court was pending. The Tribunal referred to the judgment of the Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court in the case of Ajay Prakash Verma, which clarified that interest under section 234B can only be levied on the income declared in the return, not on the assessed income.

6. The Tribunal also mentioned that the Revenue's review petition in the Ajay Prakash Verma case was dismissed by the Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court, confirming the validity of the ld CIT(A)'s order. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by the revenue, upholding the decision to delete the interest charged u/s.234B of the Act for the assessment year in question.

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