High Court Kerala High Court

The Commissioner Of Income Tax vs Kerala State Industrial … on 19 July, 2007

Kerala High Court
The Commissioner Of Income Tax vs Kerala State Industrial … on 19 July, 2007
       

  

  

 
 
  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

ITA No. 56 of 2007()


1. THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX,
                      ...  Petitioner

                        Vs



1. KERALA STATE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
                       ...       Respondent

                For Petitioner  :SRI.GEORGE K. GEORGE, SC FOR IT

                For Respondent  : No Appearance

The Hon'ble the Chief Justice MR.H.L.DATTU
The Hon'ble MR. Justice K.T.SANKARAN

 Dated :19/07/2007

 O R D E R
                             H.L. DATTU, C.J. &  K.T. SANKARAN, J.

                   ...................................................................................

                           INCOME TAX APPEAL No.    56  OF  2007

                    ...................................................................................

                                    Dated this the  19th July , 2007




                                                J U D G M E N T

H.L. Dattu, C.J.:

The revenue being aggrieved by the orders passed by the Income Tax

Appellate Tribunal, Cochin Bench, Cochin in I.T.A.No. 62/Coch/98 dated

31.12.2002, has filed the present appeal before us , under section 260A of the

Income Tax Act. The revenue has raised the following substantial questions

of law for our consideration and decision. They are as under:

“1) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the

case and also in the absence of a finding that the method

adopted by the assessing officer invoking section 145 of the Act

is not reasonable, the Tribunal is justified in interfering with the

method of treatment given to interest receipts as well as interest

payments by the Assessing Officer?

2) Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the

case, the method of treatment given to interest receipts and

payments by the assessee, the direction given by the CIT(A)

and the confirmation of the same by the Tribunal are in

accordance with law and accountancy practice?”

2. The assessing officer had found that the assessee had followed

the cash system of accounting for interest receipts and mercantile system

of accounting for interest payments. According to the assessing officer, the

same is impermissible in view of the decision of the Madras High Court in G.

INCOME TAX APPEAL No. 56 OF 2007

2

Padmanabha Chettiar and sons vs. CIT (182 ITR P.1). Aggrieved by the

orders passed by the assessing officer, the assessee had carried the matter

before the first appellate authority. The first appellate authority, based on the

notification issued by the Government of India had concluded that the

assessee was following the cash system for interest income and mercantile

system for interest payments including interest expenditure. Accordingly,

the first appellate authority had partly allowed the assessee’s appeal.

Aggrieved by the aforesaid order of the first appellate authority, the revenue

had carried the matter in an appeal before the Income Tax Appellate

Tribunal, Cochin Bench.

3. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, following its earlier decision in

ITA No. 754/Coch/92 and also following the decision of this court in

Commissioner of Income Tax, Trivandrum vs. The Kerala State

Industrial Development Corporation Limited, Trivandrum (ITR Nos. 146 to

148 of 1998) dated 13th September, 2002, had rejected the appeal filed by the

revenue. Aggrieved by the aforesaid order passed by the Income Tax

Appellate Tribunal, the revenue is before us in this appeal.

4. The questions of law raised by the revenue, in our opinion, are now

fully concluded by the decision of this court in Commissioner of Income

Tax vs. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation ,

Trivandrum. Respectfully following the observations made in the aforesaid

decision, the questions of law framed by the revenue require to be answered

against them. Accordingly, the appeal filed by the revenue requires to be

INCOME TAX APPEAL No. 56 OF 2007

3

rejected and it is rejected.

Ordered accordingly.

H.L. DATTU,

CHIEF JUSTICE.

K.T. SANKARAN,

JUDGE.

lk