2022 (11) TMI 878 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal affirms decisions on IPO expenses and statutory liabilities disallowance. Assessee's appeal dismissed.

The tribunal upheld the lower authorities' decisions on the excess deduction under section 35D related to IPO expenses and the disallowance under section ... Excess claim u/s 35D related to the IPO expenses - AO has restricted the same to 1/5th of the said expenditure as per provisions of section 35D - assessee is said to have raised funds for Primary Securities Market and has submitted that the main object of raising the funds was to meet the working capital requirements and to procure new machinery to reduce the overheads and other costs - HELD THAT:- Addition as excess deduction u/s 35D is justified by the lower authorities and the assessee has failed to substantiate its claim before us. In the result, this ground of appeal filed by the assessee is dismissed. Disallowance u/s 43B - AO has disallowed the statutory liabilities of Service Tax and Gratuity - AO made disallowance as the assessee has failed to pay the said amount before the due date and the same is reflected in the tax audit report of the assessee in Form 3CD - HELD THAT:- As statutory liabilities were found to be outstanding before filing the return of income and the same was disallowed on the ground that the assessee has failed to furnish the details pertaining to the payment of the impugned amount before the lower authorities. The assessee has stated that it has turn NPA in August 2013 and the same was the reason for not paying the statutory dues. We find no infirmity in the order of the CIT(A) as the assessee has failed to furnish particulars of its claim before us. In the result, this ground of appeal filed by the assessee is dismissed. Disallowance of interest on late payments of TDS, disallowance u/s 40a(ia) and addition on staff welfare expenses - HELD THAT:- It is pertinent to point out that the assessee has not raised these grounds as additional grounds which were not adjudicated by the learned CIT(A). The assessee has also failed to furnish documents/evidences pertaining to these claims and therefore, we deem it fit to dismiss these grounds of appeal filed by the assessee. Issues:1. Excess deduction under section 35D related to IPO expenses.2. Disallowance under section 43B for non-payment of statutory liabilities.3. Disallowance of interest on late TDS payments, disallowance under section 40a(ia), and addition on staff welfare expenses.Excess deduction under section 35D related to IPO expenses:The appeal was filed against the CIT(A)'s order regarding the addition of Rs.1,56,00,000 as excess deduction under section 35D for IPO related expenses. The assessee claimed the entire IPO expenses of Rs.1,95,00,000 as deduction, but the AO restricted it to 1/5th as per section 35D provisions. The CIT(A) confirmed this decision, stating that the IPO expenses fall under section 35D(2)(c)(iv) and can be amortized over 5 years. The lower authorities rejected the claim for the full amount, allowing only 1/5th deduction. The tribunal upheld this decision, dismissing the appeal as the assessee failed to substantiate its claim.Disallowance under section 43B for non-payment of statutory liabilities:The next issue involved disallowance of Rs.1,51,83,347 under section 43B for non-payment of statutory liabilities like service tax and gratuity before the due date. The AO disallowed these amounts as reflected in the tax audit report, stating the assessee failed to pay before the due date. The assessee's explanation of turning NPA in August 2013 was not accepted. The tribunal found no error in the CIT(A)'s decision as the assessee did not provide sufficient details to support its claim, leading to the dismissal of this ground of appeal.Other issues raised for the first time:Grounds 6, 7, and 8 related to disallowance of interest on late TDS payments, disallowance under section 40a(ia), and addition on staff welfare expenses were raised for the first time before the tribunal. However, these grounds were not raised as additional grounds and lacked supporting documents or evidence. As a result, the tribunal dismissed these grounds as the assessee failed to provide necessary details for consideration.In conclusion, the tribunal upheld the lower authorities' decisions on the excess deduction under section 35D and the disallowance under section 43B due to non-payment of statutory liabilities. The appeal was dismissed as the assessee could not substantiate its claims, and other grounds raised for the first time without proper documentation were also dismissed.