Tribunal upholds CIT(A)'s decisions, dismisses Revenue's appeals. Assessee's appeal partly allowed for AY 2015-16.

The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeals for AYs 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2015-16, upholding the CIT(A)'s decisions on all contested issues. The assessee's appeal for AY 2014-15 was also dismissed, while the appeal for AY 2015-16 was allowed for statistical purposes, directing the AO to re-compute the disallowance under Section 14A.

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Issues Involved:
1. Delayed deposit of employees' contribution to PF and ESI.
2. Disallowance of discount and brokerage debited to the Profit & Loss Account.
3. Disallowance under Section 14A of the Income Tax Act.
4. Transfer pricing adjustments related to the claim of deduction under Section 80-IA.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Delayed Deposit of Employees' Contribution to PF and ESI:
The Revenue challenged the deletion of an addition of Rs. 67,16,882/- made by the AO due to delayed deposit of employees' contribution to PF and ESI. The Tribunal noted that although there was a delay, the sums were deposited before the due date of filing the return under Section 139(1). The Tribunal referenced the consistent view of the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court, which allows such deductions if deposits are made before the return filing deadline. Citing cases like M/s. Akzo Nobel India Ltd. Vs. CIT and CIT Vs. Vijayshree Ltd., the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision to allow the deduction.

2. Disallowance of Discount and Brokerage:
The Revenue contested the deletion of a disallowance amounting to Rs. 3,13,86,883/- related to discounts and brokerage. The Tribunal noted that the assessee provided both upfront/trade discounts and conditional/post-sales discounts, which were debited separately in the Profit & Loss Account. The AO's disallowance was based on the assumption that no further discounts could be given post-sales. However, the Tribunal referenced its own decision in the assessee's case for AY 2008-09, which upheld the treatment of such discounts. The Tribunal found no new material facts to warrant a change and upheld the CIT(A)'s deletion of the disallowance.

3. Disallowance under Section 14A:
For AY 2014-15, the assessee's appeal contested the disallowance under Section 14A read with Rule 8D(2)(iii). The AO had computed a higher disallowance than the assessee's self-assessed amount. The CIT(A) directed the AO to re-compute the disallowance considering only those investments that yielded dividend income. The Tribunal upheld this approach, referencing its own decision in the assessee's case for AY 2008-09 and 2009-10, which supported considering only dividend-bearing investments for such disallowances.

4. Transfer Pricing Adjustments Related to Section 80-IA:
The Revenue appealed against the CIT(A)'s deletion of transfer pricing adjustments made by the TPO to the claim of deduction under Section 80-IA. The TPO had re-computed the transfer price of power supplied by the assessee's captive power plants (CPPs) to non-eligible units using external CUP data. The CIT(A), however, upheld the assessee's method of using the average landed cost of power procured from State Electricity Boards (SEBs) as the benchmark. The Tribunal agreed with the CIT(A), noting that reliable internal CUP data was available, and the rates used by the assessee were comparable to the rates at which power was sold to unrelated parties. The Tribunal referenced similar decisions in the assessee's case for earlier years and other relevant cases, concluding that the assessee's benchmarking analysis was justified.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeals for AYs 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2015-16, and upheld the CIT(A)'s decisions on all contested issues. The assessee's appeal for AY 2014-15 was also dismissed, while the appeal for AY 2015-16 was allowed for statistical purposes, directing the AO to re-compute the disallowance under Section 14A.

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