High Court Madras High Court

Commissioner Of Income-Tax vs Jayanthi Films (Madurai) Pvt. … on 20 November, 1990

Madras High Court
Commissioner Of Income-Tax vs Jayanthi Films (Madurai) Pvt. … on 20 November, 1990
Equivalent citations: 1992 196 ITR 802 Mad
Author: Ratnam
Bench: T Somasundaram, V Ratnam


JUDGMENT

Ratnam, J.

1. In this tax case reference under section 256(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, at the instance of the Revenue, the following question of law has been referred to this court for its opinion :

“Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in law in deleting the Income-tax Officer’s disallowance of Rs. 40,910 under section 40(a)(v) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, out of the commission payment of Rs. 13,310 for the assessment year 1971-72 ?”

2. In the course of the proceedings before the Tribunal, the assessee relied upon a decision of the Tribunal in the case of Manjushree Plantation Ltd., Nilgiris (I. T. A. Nos. 1978 to 1981/MDS/1972-73), dealing with an identical question. That formed the subject-matter of a reference before this court in the decision in CIT v. Manjushree Plantations Ltd. [1980] 125 ITR 150 according to which, in order to term a payment a “perquisite”, it had to be a payment other than a cash payment, in pursuance of a contract of service. In this case also, it has been found that the payments were cash payments and as per the decision referred to earlier, such payments could not constitute “perquisites” and the Tribunal was, therefore, right in holding that the Income-tax Officer was in error in disallowing the sum of Rs. 40,910. We answer the question referred to us in the affirmative and against the Revenue. No costs.