TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (8) TMI 669
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.... Case called twice. None appears at the assessee's behest. It is accordingly proceeded ex-parte. 3. The assessee's instant appeal raised the following substantive grounds: "(1) The Ld CIT(A) NFAC erred on facts and in law in dismissing the appeal in limine by not condoning the delay in filing of appeal owing to Covid- 19 pandemic and without considering that the delay period is covered by the judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Suo moto Writ petition No. 3/2020 and also by the CBDT Circular 10/2021 dated 25.05.2021. WITHOUT PREHUDICE TO ABOVE (2) That the Authorities below erred on facts and in law in not allowing deduction u/s 80P(2)(a)(iii) of I. T. Act on Interest received on Investments held with Bank....
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.... Act. (7) That the Authorities below erred on facts and in law in not considering that the funds of the Society in form of Share Capital from members and the society being co-operative society is statutorily required to maintain a Reserve Fund of a minimum 25% of its profit and thus the investments in form of deposits with Banks to the extent of the Share Capital and Reserve Funds cannot be said to be made out of surplus funds. (8) That the Authorities below erred on facts and in law in not considering that the P. F. Balance of seasonal employees of society which is held in the form of deposits are not the investments of the society and accordingly interest accruing on the said amount cannot be said to be the Income of the....
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....sed the material on record. We find this issue is no more res integra by virtue of catena of decisions passed by the Coordinate Benches of this Tribunal. In the present case, we find that admittedly the interest income was earned from the investments out of surplus funds made with cooperative banks/socieites, the cooperative bank is also a specie of cooperative society, therefore, the interest income earned by the cooperative society from the cooperative banks qualifies for deduction u/s.80(P)(2)(d) of the Act. Such interest also qualifies for exemption u/s.80P(2)(a)(i) as held by the Co-ordinate Bench of Pune Tribunal in the case of Nashik Road Nagari Sahkari Patsanstha Limited Vs. ITO in ITA No.1700/PUN/2017 wherein the Tribunal held as u....
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....lkata High Court in the case of CIT Vs. Southern Eastern Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. 390 ITR 524 took a view that the income arising on the surplus invested in short term deposits and securities cannot be attributed to the activities of the society and, therefore, not eligible for exemption u/s.80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act. However, the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court in the case of Tumkur Merchants Souharda Credit Cooperative Ltd. Vs. ITO (2015) 230 taxmann 309 (Kar.) and the Hon'ble Telangana and Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in the case of Vaveru Co-operative Rural Bank Ltd. v CIT [(2017) 396 ITR took a view that such interest income is attributable to the activities of the society and, therefore, eligible for exemp....