MUHAMMA SERVICE COOPERATIVE BANK LIMITED NO 1670, ALAPPUZHA V. THE ITO, ALAPPUZHA

ITA 264/COCH/2021

AI Insights

The case involves Muhamma Service Co-op. Bank Ltd., which appealed against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi, which had denied their claim for a deduction under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the Assessment Year 2018-19. The deduction claimed was Rs.14,54,103, which was rejected due to the assessee's failure to file the tax return within the due date as prescribed under Section 139(1) of the Act. The Tribunal considered arguments from both sides and referenced a previous decision by a coordinate bench, which had held that the condition of filing the return before the due date was directory. However, the Tribunal found that this interpretation did not apply post-01.04.2018, following the stricter legislative intent evident in the amendments to Section 80AC(ii).

• Counselvise Citation: [2022] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 115522 (ITAT-COCHIN)
• Duration Of Justice: 11 month(s) 29 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 18-12-2022
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Dismissed
• Bench Allotted: DB
• Next Hearing Date: 31-12-0000
• Assessment Year: misc
• Appeal Filed On: 19-12-2021
• Other Referred Cases: M/s. Krushi Vibhag Karmchari Vrund Sahakari Path Sanstha vs. ITO, Commissioner vs. Dilip Kumar & Company
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Revenue
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Section: 143(1); 80P; 139(1)

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL COCHIN BENCH, COCHIN Before Shri Satbeer Singh Godara, Judicial Member and Shri Manoj Kumar Aggarwal, Accountant Member ITA No.264/Coch/2021 (Assessment Year:2018-19) Muhamma Service Co-op. Bank Ltd. Muhamma, Cherthala Alappuzha 688525 Vs. The Income Tax Officer, Wd -2 Alappuzha PAN –AACAM1602K Appellant Respondent Appellant by: Shri Kabil Chandran, Adv Respondent by: Smt. J.M. Jamuna Devi, Sr. D.R. Date of Hearing: 09.11.2022 Date of Pronouncement: 19.12.2022 O R D E R Per: S.S. Godara, J.M. This assessee’s appeal for A.Y. 2018-19arises against the National Faceless Appeal Centre(NFAC) Delhi’s order dated 31.07.2021, passed in case No. CIT(A), Kottayam/10146/2019-20, involving proceedings under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short the Act). Heard both the parties. Case file perused. 2. Learned counsel representing the assessee vehemently argued during the course of hearing that both the lower authorities have erred in law and on facts in declining the assessee’s Section 80P deduction claim of Rs.14,54,103/- [followed by raising a demand of Rs.5,80,390/-] for the sole reason that it had not filed it’s return within the due date under Section 139(1) of the Act. ITA No. 264/Coch/2021 Muhamma Service Co-op. Bank Ltd. 23. We have given our thoughtful consideration to the vehement rival submissions and see no merit in assessee’s stand. We make it clear that the assessee has indeed quoted Section 80AC(ii) of the Act that although it has been prescribed in the relevant statute to claim the impugned deduction only after filing Section 139(1) return before the due date, this tribunal’s recent coordinate bench in the case of M/s. Krushi Vibhag Karmchari Vrund Sahakari Path Sanstha vs. ITO in ITA No.182/Nagpur/ 2019 dated 07.10.2022 has held the foregoing condition(s) as “directory” and not a mandatory one. 4. We find no merit in assessee’s foregoing arguments claiming Section 80AC(ii) of the Act as a mere directory provision in the light of Commissioner vs. Dilip Kumar & Company (2018) 9SCC 1(SC)(FB) that provisions in a taxing statute (including deductions) have to be strictly interpreted only. We next observe that the legislature has interpreted “no such deduction” and “unless” in Section 80AC(ii); for the period after 01.04.2018, by way of negative covenants which forms a mandatory stipulation only in light of PRINCIPLES OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION by Justice G.P. Singh (termed as the treatise on the subject of statutory constructions) at Pages 446 to 448 under Chapter 5 thereof. So far as the assessee’s reliance on this tribunal’s learned coordinate bench’s decision (supra) is concerned, the same hardly forms a binding precedent once dealing with assessment year 2009-10 only i.e., before 01.04.2018. We thus uphold the learned lower authorities action under challenge therefore denying sec.80P deduction in issue. 5. This assessee’s appeal is dismissed in above terms. Dictated and pronounced in the open Court on 19th December, 2022. Sd/- Sd/- (Manoj Kumar Aggarwal) (Satbeer Singh Godara) Accountant Member Judicial Member Cochin, Dated: 19th December, 2022 ITA No. 264/Coch/2021 Muhamma Service Co-op. Bank Ltd. 3Copy to: 1. The Appellant 2. The Respondent 3. The CIT(A) -NFA 4. The CIT- 5. The DR, ITAT, Cochin 6. Guard File By Order //True Copy// Assistant Registrar ITAT, Cochin n.p.