TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (9) TMI 433
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....ereby, it is to be ascertained whether the assessee got transported the sugar cane from the fields of farmers to its premises with the help of transporters, and if yes, then on account of its failure to deduct TDS under section 194C of the Income Tax Act, it is to be held as an assessee-in-default liable to tax under section 201 as well as interest under section 201(1A) of the Income Tax Act. 3. In response to the notice of hearing, no one has come present on behalf of the assessee. With the assistance of the learned DR, we have gone through the record carefully and proceed to dispose of the appeal ex parte qua the assessee. 4. Brief facts of the case are that the assessee is a co-operative society registered with the Registrar of Coo....
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....operative Society duly registered, sanctioned and approved by the Registrar of Cooperative Society, the highest authority of the governing Act. i.e. The Gujarat Co-Operative Societies Act, 1961. The relevant Bye Laws No. 7(A) categorically provides that the cane grower members are exclusively responsible to cut, harvest and transport their sugarcane from their field to the factory gate for which they had been paid ex-factory gate cane price by virtue of the Sugar Cane Price Control Order, 1966 of the Central Government. (ii) Copy of water stop instructions letter/card given to the cane grower members containing therein categorically the condition that the cane grower member should cut and supply his sugarcane grown on his field aft....
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....s not made any payment towards transportation and harvesting of the sugarcane to any agency or third person, there is no valid and legal ground in support of the allegation of default u/s. 201(1) and 201(1A) of the Act. 3. Your kind attention is invited to the very fact that the Divisional Bench of ITAT, Ahmedabad has already allowed the appeal in favour of the assessee for the Asstt.Year: 2003-04 against the order passed by u/s 201(1) and 201(1 A) of the Act treating the assessee mill as assessee in default for the alleged payment of transportation and harvesting of sugarcane. Thus, as a matter of fact, the issue being identical and the same as in the present year, has already been resolved by the Hon'ble ITAT, Ahmedabad in th....
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....s. 185/-per metric ton, the rate at which assessee paid for the immediate preceding year. On the basis, the amount of expenditure on harvesting & transport contractors is worked out as under :- Rs.185 per MT x 17,71,699 MT Of sugar cane purchased = Rs. 32,77,64,315/-" 7. In this way, the ld.AO has held the assessee liable for transporting the sugar cane from the fields of the famers, and according to the AO, the assessee has failed to TDS on payments of transportation. Therefore, it is an assessee-in-default. He has passed an order under section 201(1) and 201(1A) working out the amount of TDS deductible at Rs. 67,19,168/- and interest for not depositing this amount in Government Treasury at Rs. 64,50,400/-. The learned....
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.... [9] The A.O. has worked out the total payment covered U/s 194C on the basis of pure estimate based on last years payment to farmer members. [10] The arguments of the appellant are quite convincing. The A.O. has hardly been able to support his case with cogent reasons / credible evidence. The crux of the argument of appellant is that they are making advance payment of sugar cane purchase price to their farmer members. The farmers are agriculturists. Their income is not taxable. It is clear that Section 194C of the IT Act is not applicable in appellant's case. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case as well as arguments of the appellant and the Judgment of Hon'ble ITAT, it is held that the assessin....