TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1998 (8) TMI 608
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....topped working with the assessee-company and went and joined M/s. Suraj Diamond Industries Ltd., which is a sister concern, with effect from 6-7-1991. Accounting to the assessee, the gratuity payable to him was arrived at Rs. 22,153 and this amount was credited in favour of M/s. Suraj Diamond Industries Ltd. with the consent of Shri Ajit Shah, to whom the amount was payable. It is stated that the amount was transferred to M/s. Suraj Diamond Industries Ltd. so that at the time of retirement the total gratuity payable to Shri Ajit Shah could be found out and paid. Thus, the contention of the assessee was that he had paid the amount. In token of this contention, the assessee produced before the Assessing Officer a receipt dated 6-7-1991 from S....
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.... Assessing Officer noted in the balance-sheet of the assessee-company that the said sum of Rs. 22,153 is shown as outstanding. He also agreed with the Assessing Officer when he had recorded that the employee';s acknowledgement is silent as to when the transfer of fund was made by the assessee to M/s. Suraj Diamond Industries Ltd. 4. I have heard Shri D.J. Thakkar, ld. Representative for the assessee, and Shri Krishna Murari, ld. Departmental Representative. Shorn of all tech-nicalities and accounting Jargon, it would appear that what all happened on 6-7-1991 when Shri Ajit Shah stopped working with the assessee-company and joined Suraj Diamond Industries Ltd. was that the sum of Rs. 22,153 which is due to Shri Ajit Shah towards his g....
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....upplied). The case of the assessee is that even though there is no actual payment of this amount, it is enough if the liability is incurred the day on which the liability is transferred in favour of Suraj Diamond Industries Ltd. and as such the gratuity amount of Rs. 22,153 should be taken to have been paid. In support of this contention, the learned Representative for the assessee had cited the following decision : W.T. Suren & Co. Ltd. v. CIT (1998) 97 Taxman 126(SC). The facts of that case are quite similar to the facts on hand. There, the question was about allowability of the gratuity amount due to the employees. In that case, one unit of the assessee-company was closed and the same was transferred to another who employed empl....
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....nued. The assessee claimed gratuity amount paid as deduction. The Assessing Officer held that R alone would be entitled to claim the amount when paid by them to the assessee';s employees at the time of their respective retirement and therefore, he disallowed its claim. On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) held that there was no actual termination of the services of the employees and the discharge of the liability in question was capital in nature, and he upheld the Assessing Officer';s order. On second appeal, the Tribunal held that there was termination of the employment of the employees from the service of the assessee; that there was valid discharge of the payment of gratuity; that the assessee was still functioning; and that pa....
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....ng to gratuity of that company. The payment of amount of gratuity to R was made as per the scheme of the assessee and it was not an ex gratia or some isolated payment. It was never disputed and, in fact, no question raised if the services of the employees of the assessee were not terminated and that being the position, the obligation of the assessee to make payment of gratuity to its employees was an obligation in praesenti. The payment of gratuity amount was with the consent of the employees transferred. Thus, the payment of gratuity awarded by the assessee in the circumstances of the case was an expenditure wholly laid or expended for the purpose of the business of the assessee and was allowable deduction." Apart from the above Supreme....