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2022 (8) TMI 790
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....cause in late filing the appeal before ITAT and the delay occurred may kindly be condoned. 3. During the course of hearing, the ld. DR has no objection to assessee application for condonation of delay and prayed that court may decide the issue as deem fit and proper in the case. 4. We have heard the rival contentions and perused the materials available on record. The prayer as mentioned by the assessee for condonation of delay of 125 days has merit and we concur with the submission of the assessee. Thus the delay of 125 days in filing the appeal by the assessee is condoned. 5. The assessee has raised the following grounds:- "1. In the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, ld. CIT(A), has erred in confirming the action of the ld. AO, in making adjustments in the intimation under Section 143(1) which are outside the purview of section 143(1)(a). The action of the ld. CIT(A) is illegal, unjustified, arbitrary and against the facts of the case. Relief may please be granted by deleting the entire disallowance of Rs. 35,25,527/- 2. In the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, ld. CIT(A), has erred in confirming the action of the ld. AO, in m....
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.... and the material available on record. Admitted facts of the present case are that the payments of PF & ESI contribution relating employee's contribution are before the due date of filing of return of income U/s 139(1) of the Act. We have noted that the issue under consideration is covered by the decision of the Coordinate Bench in case of M/s Mohanlal Khatri vs. ACIT in ITA No. 144/JP/2021 order dated 29.11.2021 (Supra) wherein it is held as under:- "7. I have considered the submissions of both the parties and perused the material available on record. In the present cases, it is noticed that an identical issue having similar facts has already been adjudicated by the ITAT, Jodhpur Bench in the aforesaid referred to cases, wherein one of us is author of the order dated 27/09/2021. In the said order it has been held vide paras 7 to 11 in ITA No. 59/Jodh/2021 for the assessment years 2015-16 in the case of Mohangarh Engineers and Construction Company Vs. DCIT and in the case of Bikaner Ceramics Private Limited, Bikaner Vs. ADIT, CPC, Bangaluru, in ITA No. 60/Jodh/2021 for the A.Y. 2019-20 as under:- 7. We have considered the submission of both the parties and perused....
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.... present appeal. After hearing Mr. Sinha, learned advocate, appearing on behalf of the appellant and after going through the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Income Tax vs. Alom Extrusion Ltd., we find that the Supreme Court in the aforesaid case has held that the amendment to the second proviso to the Sec 43(B) of the Income Tax Act, as introduced by Finance Act, 2003, was curative in nature and is required to be applied retrospectively with effect from 1st April, 1988. Such being the position, the deletion of the amount paid by the Employees' Contribution beyond due date was deductible by invoking the aforesaid amended provisions of Section 43(B) of the Act. We, therefore, find that no substantial question of law is involved in this appeal and consequently, we dismiss this appeal. Urgent xerox certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities." In the light of the aforesaid discussion we do not accept the Ld. CIT(A)'s stand denying the claim of assessee since assessee delayed the employees contribution of EPF & ESI fund and as per th....
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....details submitted by the assessee as part of its return of income, it is noted that the assessee has deposited the employees's contribution towards ESI and PF well before the due date of filing of return of income u/s 139(1) and the last of such deposits were made on 16.04.2019 whereas due date of filing the return for the impugned assessment year 2019-20 was 31.10.2019 and the return of income was also filed on the said date. Admittedly and undisputedly, the employees's contribution to ESI and PF which have been collected by the assessee from its employees have thus been deposited well before the due date of filing of return of income u/s 139(1) of the Act. 14. The issue is no more res integra in light of series of decisions rendered by the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court starting from CIT vs. State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (supra) and subsequent decisions. 15. In this regard, we may refer to the initial decision of Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in case of CIT vs. State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur wherein the Hon'ble High Court after extensively examining the matter and considering the various decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and various other High Courts has deci....
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....d not under the due date of filing of return. 22. We have already observed that till this provision was brought in as the due amounts on one pretext or the other were not being deposited by the assessees though substantial benefits had been obtained by them in the shape of the amount having been claimed as a deduction but the said amounts were not deposited. It is pertinent to note that the respective Act such as PF etc. also provides that the amounts can be paid later on subject to payment of interest and other consequences and to get benefit under the Income Tax Act, an assessee ought to have actually deposited the entire amount as also to adduce evidence regarding such deposit on or before the return of income under sub-section (1) of Section 139 of the IT Act. 23. Thus, we are of the view that where the PF and/or EPF, CPF, GPF etc., if paid after the due date under respective Act but before filing of the return of income under Section 139(1), cannot be disallowed under Section 43B or under Section 36(1)(va) of the IT Act." 16. The said decision has subsequently been followed in CIT vs. Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (supra), CIT vs. Udaipur Dugdh Utp....
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....to the facts involved in the case of Mohangarh Engineers and Construction Company Vs. DCIT (supra) and in the case of Bikaner Ceramics Private Limited, Bikaner Vs. ADIT, CPC, Bangaluru (supra). So respectfully following the aforesaid referred to order, the disallowances sustained by the Ld. CIT(A) are deleted." 14. A similar issue has been decided by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of CIT vs. AIMIL Ltd., (2010) 321 ITR 508 wherein it has been held as under:- "The deletion with effect from April 1, 2004 by the Finance Act, 2003 of the second proviso to section 43B of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which stipulates that contributions to the provided fund and Employees State Insurance Fund should be made within the time mentioned in section 36(1)(va), that is, the time allowed under the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, as well as the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, it treated as retrospective in nature. If the employees' contribution is not deposited thereafter, the employer not only pays interest and delayed payment but can incur penalties also, for which specific provisions are made in the those Acts. In so far as Income-t....
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....ontribution to any provident fund or superannuation fund or any fund set up under the provisions of ESI Act or any other fund for the welfare of such employees. Section 36 of the Act pertains to the other deductions. Sub-section (1) of the said section provides for various deductions allowed while computing the income under the head ‗Profits and gains of business or profession'. Clause (va) of the said sub-section provides for deduction of any sum received by the assessee from any of his employees to which the provisions of sub-clause (x) of clause (24) of section 2 apply, if such sum is credited by the assessee to the employee's account in the relevant fund or funds on or before the due date. Explanation to the said clause provides that, for the purposes of this clause, "due date" to mean the date by which the assessee is required as an employer to credit an employee's contribution to the employee's account in the relevant fund under any Act, rule, order or notification issued there-under or under any standing order, award, contract of service or otherwise. Section 43B specifies the list of deductions that are admissible under the Act only upon ....
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....sub-clause (x) of clause (24) of section 2 applies. These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2021 and will accordingly apply to the assessment year 2021-22 and subsequent assessment years." 16. The present appeal is filed by the assessee against disallowance of Rs.5,61,32,750/- pertaining to employees contribution made towards ESI & PF which was paid by the appellant company after the "due date" under respective statute of ESIC/PF. This disallowance was made by the AO under section 143(1) of the Act on the basis of remarks in the relevant column of Form no. 3CD report attached with the return of income. In the appeal petition, the appellant has stated that total income returned at Rs.24,87,27,450/- has been processed at Rs.30,48,60,200/- after making adjustment u/s. 143(1)(a)(ii) for Rs.5,61,32,750/- by disallowing PF and other contribution paid after due date prescribed by respective labour laws, out of sum collected from employees contribution to PF/ESIC etc. The assessee has stated that disallowance of Rs.5,61,32,750/- was not in accordance with the provision of Section 43B of the Act as the said amount were duly remitted before the due date of filling....
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....ontribution toward PF/ESIC. The Hon'ble Gauhati High Court has also taken note of the deletion of second Proviso to section 43B of the Act brought by finance Act 2003 with effect from 01/04/2004. Prior to this Amendment by Finance Act 2003, even the employers contribution as per clause (b) of section 43B was to be allowed only if the payments were made within the "due date" as specified in the explanation below section 36(1)(va) of the Act. It was in the context of this amendment that the Hon'ble Gauhati High Court has held that the said second proviso could be considered to be never in existence and accordingly the decision in favour of appellant was given for the issues pertaining to deduction u/s 43B(b) i.e. employers contribution. As the Hon'ble Supreme Court dismissed the SLP of the Revenue, the decision of the Hon'ble Gauhati High Court got approved by the Hon'ble Apex Court pertaining to only employers contribution as contemplated by section 43B(b) of the Act. The last para of decision of Hon'ble Delhi high Court in the case of M/s AIM IL Ltd. is reproduced hereunder: "17. We may only add that if the employees" contribution is not deposited b....
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.... of Section 36(1)(va) was amended vide Finance Act, 2021 by inserting Explanation 2, which reads as under :- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the provisions of Section 43B shall not apply and shall be deemed never to have been applied for the purposes of determining the "due date" under this clause. The above explanation sets to rest the controversy pertaining to allowability of deduction in respect of employees' contribution to PF/ESIC under section 43B of the Act. The Explanation 2 inserted by Finance Act, 2021 emphasizes that section 43B was never deemed to have applied for the purposes of due dates as under section 36(1)(va) of the Act. On the issue of clarificatory amendments, the Honble Supreme Court had occasion to analyse the issue in detail in the case of CIT vs Goldcoin Helath Foods Pvt Ltd 304 ITR 308 92008) and it was held that if a statute is curative or merely declaratory of the previous law, retrospective operation is generally intended by the legislature. In the same decision the Hon'ble Bench refer to the principles of statutory interpretation by justice G.P. Singh wherein the language "shall be deemed always to have ....
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....f it. According to Hon'ble Apex court every human being is entitled to arrange his affairs by relying on the existing law and should not find that his plans have been retrospectively upset. This principle of law is known as lex prospicit non respicit, which means law looks forward not backward. In the case of Vatika Township Pvt. Ltd., (Supra), the issue under challenge before Hon'ble Supreme Court was the insertion of proviso to section 113 of the Act by the Finance Act 2002 for charging of surcharge. Hon'ble Supreme Court noted that though provision for surcharge under the Finance Acts have been in existence since 1995, the charge of surcharge with respect to block assessments, having been created for the first time by the insertion of proviso to Section 113 of the Act, by Finance Act, 2002, it is clearly a substantive provision and is to be construed as prospective in operation. The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the amendment neither purports to be merely clarificatory nor is there any material to suggest that it was intended by parliament. The Hon'ble Supreme Court finally held that the proviso to Section113 of the Act is prospective and not retrospective. For this p....
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....rcular has been issued after the passing of the Finance Act, 2002, by which amendment to Section 113 was made. In this circular, various amendments to the Income Tax Act are discussed amply demonstrating as to which amendments are clarificatory/retrospective in operation and which amendments are prospective. For example, explanation to Section 158BB is stated to be clarificatory in nature. Likewise, it is mentioned that amendments in Section 145 whereby provisions of that section are made applicable to block assessments is made clarificatory and would take effect retrospectively from 1st day of July, 1995. When it comes to amendment to Section 113 of the Act, this very circular provides that the said amendment along with amendments in Section 158BE, would be prospective i.e. it will take effect from 1st June, 2002. (f) Finance Act, 2003, again makes the position clear that surcharge in respect of block assessment of undisclosed income was made prospective. Such a stipulation is contained in second proviso to sub-section (3) of Section 2 of Finance Act, 2003. This proviso reads as under: "Provided further that the amount of income-tax computed in accordance with th....