In determining taxable income of a freight forwarding and...

In determining taxable income of a freight forwarding and handling intermediary, only the net service charges retained constitute "real income," since freight components billed and collected from customers are payable onward to airlines/shipping lines and are not the assessee's compensation. Where the tax authorities treated gross receipts as income and made an addition for the difference with returned income, they were required to allow corresponding freight remittances evidenced on record, even if not routed through the profit and loss account, as the amounts were pass-through. Additions cannot rest merely on transaction value without proving it represents consideration for services. The appellate relief deleting the addition was upheld. - ITAT

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