TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (5) TMI 98
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.... in allowing the claim of freight charges payable without examining whether the details of payees are furnished before the prescribed Income-tax authority in the prescribed form and within the prescribed time as per section 194(7). iii. The Ld.CIT(A) erred in taking into account additional evidence relating to 'Freight charges details uploaded' in contravention of Rule 46A of the Income Tax Rules. iv. For these and other grounds that may be urged upon, the order of the CIT(A) may be reversed and that assessment order be restored. v. The appellant craves leave to add, alter, amend or delete any other grounds on or before hearing of the appeal". 3. The Assessee is a company engaged in the business of manufacture and dealer in edible and non-edible oils and its by products. In the course of assessment proceedings the AO noticed that the Assessee had made payment of a sum of Rs. 6,62,65,573/- to various transporters and the expenditure incurred in this regard was claimed as deduction in computing income from business of the Assessee. The details of which are as follows: Details of Freight: Carriage inward 2,29,93,188.00 Carriage outward 1,73....
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....ssessee. Hence the AO disallowed the sum of Rs. 6,62,26,410 and added the said sum to the income returned by the assessee. 7. On appeal by the assessee, the CIT(Appeals) deleted the addition made by the AO except in respect of a sum of Rs. 99,04,607, for the following reasons. "6b. I have carefully perused the submissions and Board's Circular No. 19/2015. During the appeal proceedings before me, the AR stresses on the statement of facts and relied on CBDT Circular No. 19/2015 dated 27/11/2015. The details submitted are perused and considered. Details of lorry freight uploaded/not uploaded is tabulated as under: Particulars Amount (Rs) Amount (Rs) Freight paid as per order 6,62,65,573 Less: Below Rs. 75,000 H S Road Lines, Mumbai 72,695 Lakshmi Transports, Mng 63,729 Latha Narayana Transports 69,552 Neha Roadlines 55,720 Sree Guru Transports 47,195 Univercel Logistics 64,860 3,73,751 Lorry Freight details to be uploaded 6,58,91,822 Less: Lorry freight details uploaded 5,59,87....
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....iages at any time during the previous year and furnishes a declaration to that effect along with, his Permanent Account Number, to the person paying or crediting such sum." 22. Prior to the amendment by Finance Act, 2015 (w.e.f. 01-06-2015, it was reading as follows:- "(6) No deduction shall be made from any sum credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the previous year to the account of a contractor during the course of business of plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, on furnishing of his Permanent Account Number, to the person paying or crediting such sum." 23. A plain reading of the above sub-section makes it amply clear that on the Contractor undertaking Transport of Goods in course of his Transport Business, furnishing PAN to the person making such payment/credit, the payee shall not be required to effect TDS from such payment to the Transporter. On furnishing the PAN No. from the recipient Transporter- Contractor, the immunity from making TDS under sec. 194C(1) shall be available to all payers by virtue of 194C(6), in relation to all Goods Transport Charges irrespective of the fact, whether it was under a Contract or a Sub-cont....
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....he prescribed Authority as provided u/s. 194C(7), deduction and for that matter disallowance, u/s. 194C and 40(a)(ia) would get attracted. On this aspect, as indicated above a reading of provisions of Section 194C (6), prior to the amendment of by Finance Act, 2015 (w.e.f. 01- 06-2015), makes it clear that that during the relevant Assessment year, if the sub-contractors have supplied their PAN to the person making payments in respect of hiring/leasing/of vehicles during the course of his business, then such person making such payment shall not deduct any TDS. It is only by way of subsequent amendment by Finance Act, 2015 (w.e.f. 01-06-2015), the expression "where such contractor owns ten or less goods carriages at any time during the previous year and furnishes a declaration to that effect along with" was substituted in the place of "on furnishing of" thereby introducing the requirement of the declaration to the effect indicated by the amendment. Therefore, under Sec. 194C(6), as it stood prior to the amendment in 2015 in order to get immunity from the obligation of TDS, filing of PAN of the Payee-Transporter alone is sufficient and no confirmation letter as required by the learned....
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.... with"], his Permanent Account Number, to the person paying or crediting such sum. (7) The person responsible for paying or crediting any sum to the person referred to in subsection (6) shall furnish, to the prescribed income-tax authority or the person authorised by it, such particulars, in such form and within such time as may be prescribed. 27. From the above, it could be observed that only slight modification had been introduced as to the procedure by replacing "declaration" with the words "Permanent Account Number" as the thing to be obtained from the Transporter. We are, therefore, inclined to hold that the provisions of Section 194C(6) and 194C(7) are similar to the Proviso (2) and (3) of the pre-amended Section 194C(3), and on this premise we shall proceed to examine whether Section 194C(6) and 194C(7) are to be read together to invoke provisions under section 40(a)(ia) of the Act. 28. After drawing an analogy between the pre-amended proviso between Clause (2) and Clause (3) of section 194C(3) and the present amended section 194C(6) and 194C(7), Learned AR submitted that even on earlier occasions when the declaration obtained in Form 15 I ( req....