2022 (4) TMI 1186

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.... order of assessment passed by the Assessing Officer and demanding payment of tax. 3. According to the respondent / writ petitioner, they are the Cooperative Credit Society registered under the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983. They did not file their return of income for the assessment year 2012-13. While so, they received a notice dated 11.03.2019 under section 148, calling upon them to file their return for the said assessment year. Pursuant to the same, the respondent filed its return of income on 25.03.2019 admitting 'nil' income. After issuance of notice under section 143(2) dated 25.05.2019, the assessment was completed on 17.06.2019 disallowing the deduction claimed under section 80P(2)(a)(i). Challenging the said....

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.... is passed, the assessee ought to have filed statutory appeal before the appellate authority, whereas in this case, the respondent/ co-operative society, instead of filing statutory appeal, preferred the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and hence, the learned Judge ought not to have entertained the writ petition. However, he fairly submitted that the Division Bench of this Court, in the Judgment dated 02.08.2016 passed in Tax Case Appeal Nos.484 to 487 and 490 of 2016 has held that in terms of Section 80P of the Act, which was inserted under the Finance Act, 2006 with effect from 01.04.2007, the assessee, which is the cooperative credit society, would be entitled to the benefit of Section 80P of the Act. It is fu....

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....e ratio decidendi of Citizen Cooperative Society Ltd. (supra), must be given effect to. Section 80P of the IT Act, being a benevolent provision enacted by Parliament to encourage and promote the credit of the co-operative sector in general must be read liberally and reasonably, and if there is ambiguity, in favour of the assessee. A deduction that is given without any reference to any restriction or limitation cannot be restricted or limited by implication, as is sought to be done by the Revenue in the present case by adding the word "agriculture" into Section 80P(2)(a)(i) when it is not there. Further, section 80P(4) is to be read as a proviso, which proviso now specifically excludes co-operative banks which are co-operative societies enga....