2019 (11) TMI 411 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal's Decision: Appeals Partly Allowed with Specific Directions

M/s. Tata Sons Ltd. Versus ACIT 2 (3), Mumbai And (Vice-Versa)

M/s. Tata Sons Ltd. Versus ACIT 2 (3), Mumbai And (Vice-Versa) - TMI Issues Involved:1. Set off of Interest on Income Tax Refund with Interest charged on income tax demands.2. Disallowance under section 14A of the Act read with Rule 8D of the Rules.3. Treatment of sale of 2% shares of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) as Long Term Capital Gains.4. Deletion of disallowance of Rs. 15.65 lakhs being the amount of taxes withheld on foreign dividend.Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:1. Set off of Interest on Income Tax Refund with Interest charged on income tax demands:The assessee received interest of Rs. 43.81 crores from the income tax department and paid Rs. 6.57 crores as interest on tax demands. The assessee sought to set off the interest paid against the interest received. The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed the interest paid, citing section 40(a)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and taxed the gross interest received. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] upheld this action. However, the Appellate Tribunal referenced the decision of the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court in DIT (International Taxation) vs Bank of America NT and SA, which allowed such set-off as it did not result in a loss of revenue. Consequently, the Tribunal allowed the assessee's appeal on this ground.2. Disallowance under section 14A of the Act read with Rule 8D of the Rules:The assessee earned a significant amount of dividend income and claimed it as exempt. The AO disallowed expenses under section 14A read with Rule 8D. The CIT(A) directed the AO to recompute the disallowance, considering only the actual expenses related to earning exempt income. The Tribunal, considering various judicial pronouncements, directed the AO to:a) Consider only investments that yielded exempt income while computing disallowance.b) Permit netting off interest received with interest paid.c) Include investments in subsidiaries and other strategic investments, provided they yielded exempt income.The Tribunal also admitted an additional ground regarding section 14A disallowance while computing book profits under section 115JB, directing the AO to follow the Special Bench decision in Vireet Investments.3. Treatment of sale of 2% shares of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) as Long Term Capital Gains:The assessee sold 2% shares of TCS, claiming long-term capital gains exempt under section 10(38). The AO treated the gains as business income, arguing that the shares were held for business purposes. The CIT(A) allowed the assessee's claim, referencing the consistent treatment of such gains in previous years and the CBDT Circular No. 6/2016, which supports treating gains from listed shares held for over 12 months as capital gains. The Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision, dismissing the revenue's appeal.4. Deletion of disallowance of Rs. 15.65 lakhs being the amount of taxes withheld on foreign dividend:The issue involved tax credit for foreign dividend taxed in both India and Switzerland. The CIT(A) allowed the credit, and the Tribunal directed the AO to decide the issue in line with previous tribunal orders and the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court's decision in CIT vs Ambalal Kilachand. The Tribunal allowed the revenue's appeal for statistical purposes, directing the AO to re-examine the issue.Conclusion:Both appeals by the assessee and the revenue were partly allowed for statistical purposes, with specific directions provided for each issue. The Tribunal's order emphasized adherence to judicial precedents and proper computation methods as per established legal principles.