2014 (1) TMI 175

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....as many as four grounds, the same was pressed before us only in respect of the assessee's ground no.2, i.e., impugning the upholding of the disallowance u/s.40(a)(ia) of the Act in the sum of Rs.1,34,61,414/-. 3. The brief facts of the case are that the assessee, an individual, is in the business of providing car rental services, apart from also investing in shares. The total hiring revenue for the year, as it appears from the assessment order, is at Rs.152.72 lakhs. As a part of the demand (for cars) stood met by the assessee by hiring cars from other vendors, hire charges for the same were incurred. The hiring cost, where paid at a minimum of Rs.50,000/- to a single party during the year, worked to Rs.134.61 lakhs. As no tax at source st....

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....hen required. Reliance was also placed by him on the decision in the case of Prashant H. Shah vs. Asst. CIT [2012] 52 SOT 69 (Ahmedabad) (URO)[also: 31 CCH 292], wherein it has been held that in the absence of transfer or pass-over of any contractual responsibility to the transporter as a sub-contractor, the assessee, being an individual, was not responsible for the deduction of the tax at source as prescribed u/s. 194C(2). Under these circumstances, therefore, no case for deduction u/s.194C is made out. 4.2 The ld. DR, on the other hand, would submit that no such case, i.e., qua the non applicability of section 194C(1), stands made out by the assessee before the Revenue authorities, with it being the accepted position that the said sectio....

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....7. We have examined the amendments to section 194C, as affected by the different Finance Acts, so as to satisfy ourselves in this regard. 5.2 Continuing further, the non-applicability of section 194C(2), as made out by the assessee before us, as we understand, is only by way of an abundant caution. This is as no case of a sub-contract has been made out by the Revenue. There is no reference to either a sub-contract or s. 194C(2) in the orders of either of the authorities below. The contracts entered into by the assessee with the different car/travel agents, as it appears, are independent contracts for car rental services, being entered into by it in accordance with the needs of its business. As and when it falls short of cars, the same are ....