2013 (5) TMI 860

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....eneral in nature and no specific issue involved, it doesn't survive for adjudication. Ground No.3 relates to the assessee's objection in invoking the jurisdiction u/s 263 of the Act, when the issue is capable of being either rectified u/s 154 of the Act or re-opened u/s 148 of the Act. However, during the course of hearing, the learned A R submitted that this ground is not pressed. Accordingly, ground No.3 is dismissed as 'not pressed'. The remaining grounds relate to the following issues, namely: (1) (Ground No.2) that the CIT erred in assuming jurisdiction u/s 263 of the Act; & (2) (Ground Nos.4 & 5) that the CIT erred in holding that the contribution to unapproved gratuity fund was not an allowable expenditure u/s 36(1)....

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....d was not allowable as expenditure u/s 36(1)(v) of the Act; & - that the CIT had failed to appreciate that even if the contribution to unapproved gratuity fund was not allowable under section 36(1)(v) of the Act, the same is allowable under section 37 of the Act. 4.1. To support his contentions, the learned AR had placed reliance on the ruling of the Hon'ble jurisdictional High Court in the case of chief Commissioner (Admn) and Another v. Karnataka Electricity Board reported in 197 ITR 48 (Kar). 4.2. On the other hand, the learned DR supported the action of the CIT in invoking the provisions of section 263 of the Act as the stand of the AO was erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of revenue. It was, therefore, pleaded t....

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....or the Hon'ble jurisdictional High Court to consider almost an identical issue to that of the present issue under dispute in the case of Chief Commissioner (Admn) and another v. Karnataka Electricity Board reported in 197 ITR 48 (Kar). After taking cognizance of rival submissions, the Hon'ble Court had observed that: - "The concept of commercial expedience is not foreign to a statutory corporation which is obliged to carry on as venture which any other commercial enterprise can also carry on. Where an assessee, a statutory corporation, was obliged to pay pension to its employees under the rules governing it and provision was made by it towards the pension fund though no approval pension fund was in existence and the claim for deduc....