Rectification of appeal effect order sustained where deletion of confirmed vendor financing interest was contrary to the Tribunal's directions.

While giving effect to an appellate order, the Assessing Officer must implement the Tribunal's directions as they stand and cannot delete a confirmed addition on a reading not supported by the order. Here, the Tribunal had already upheld the addition for interest on vendor financing and delayed payments, and there was no direction to exclude it on attribution principles. The later deletion of that confirmed addition in the appeal effect order was therefore a mistake apparent from the record and could be rectified under section 154. The rectification was held valid, and the assessee's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the Assessing Officer was justified in rectifying the appeal effect order under section 154 by restoring the addition of interest on vendor financing and delayed payments, on the ground that the Tribunal had already upheld that addition and had not directed its deletion on attribution principles.

Analysis: The Tribunal had earlier confirmed the addition of Rs. 5 crores on account of interest on credit facilities/vendor financing for both years. In the appeal effect proceedings, the Assessing Officer was bound to give effect to that conclusion and could not read the Tribunal order as permitting deletion of the confirmed addition. No specific direction existed in the earlier order to exclude the interest income on attribution principles, and deleting the addition while implementing the Tribunal's order constituted a mistake apparent from the record. Such a mistake was amenable to rectification under section 154.

Conclusion: The rectification under section 154 was valid and the assessee's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The confirmed addition on account of vendor financing interest remained undisturbed, and the rectification order was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: While giving effect to an appellate order, the Assessing Officer must implement the appellate directions as they stand, and any deletion or alteration of a confirmed addition contrary to those directions constitutes a mistake apparent from the record capable of rectification under section 154.

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