2017 (12) TMI 1360 - HC - Income Tax

Tribunal rules in favor of taxpayer on deduction method under Income Tax Act

The Tribunal overturned the Commissioner (Appeals) decision and directed not to reduce the deduction under section 10B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The ... Deduction under section 10B computation - disallowance on the ground that expenditure in nature of Director’s remuneration, bank charges, audit fees and the internal audit fees should be based on turnover and not on actual basis - Held that:- Having regard to the facts as emerging from the record, it is clear that the assessee had claimed deduction under section 10B of the Act on actual basis, whereas the Assessing Officer and the Commissioner (Appeals) have held that the same is required to be claimed on the basis of turnover. Considering the fact that separate accounts have been maintained by the assessee in respect of eligible and non-eligible units and a uniform practice has been followed by the assessee over a period of time for the purpose of claiming deduction under section 10B of the Act, no infirmity can be found in the impugned order passed by the Tribunal in holding that there was no warrant for computing deduction on the basis of turnover, instead of on actual basis Issues:1. Interpretation of deduction under section 10B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 based on interest income inclusion.Analysis:The case involved a substantial question of law regarding the inclusion of interest income for the claim of deduction under section 10B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Assessing Officer had reduced the deduction by restricting the disallowance based on the nature of certain expenditures such as Director's remuneration, bank charges, audit fees, and internal audit fees. The appellant contended that separate books of accounts were maintained for each division, with one division being 100% export-oriented and covered under section 10B, while others were not. The appellant allocated expenses on an actual basis for each division, including Director's remuneration, bank charges, audit fees, and internal audit fees. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the Assessing Officer's decision to allocate expenses based on turnover, but the Tribunal disagreed.The Tribunal found that the appellant indeed maintained separate books of accounts for each division, and the Assessing Officer did not dispute that bank charges related to the export-oriented unit were not debited to that division. The Tribunal also noted that auditor's remuneration and internal audit fees were determined based on the work done for each division, not turnover. Regarding managerial remuneration, the appellant had been allocating 50% between eligible and non-eligible units since the beginning. Therefore, the Tribunal overturned the Commissioner (Appeals) decision and directed not to reduce the deduction under section 10B. The Tribunal held that the deduction should be claimed on an actual basis rather than turnover basis, considering the consistent practice followed by the appellant in maintaining separate accounts for eligible and non-eligible units. Consequently, the proposed question [A] was disallowed.