Shri.Vishwanath Raghunath Rao Deshpande Memorial Trust, Bangalore V. Income Tax Officer, Bangalore

ITA 344/BANG/2017

• Counselvise Citation: [2017] 130 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 8451 (ITAT-BANGALORE)
• Duration Of Justice: 1 month(s) 14 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 31-03-2017
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: 2012-2013
• Appeal Filed On: 15-02-2017
• Result in Favour of: Partly Allowed
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Keywords: Depreciation; Charitable institution
• Section: 32; 147; 131; 68; 246; 69; 145; 27; 148; 54; 37; 6; 56; 263; 63; 132; 12; 28; 144; 10; 90; 154; 2; 11; 15; 271(1)(b); 139; 92; 12A; 13

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL SMC - B BENCH : BANGALORE BEFORE SHRI VIJAY PAL RAO, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 ASSESSMENT YEAR : 2012-13 SHRI VISHWANATH RAGHUNATH RAO DESHPANDE MEMORIAL TRUST, NO. 372, NILAY R.T. NAGAR MAIN ROAD, R.T. NAGAR, BANGALORE 560 032. PAN: AACTS 8135N VS. THE INCOME TAX OFFICER (EXEMPTIONS), WARD 3, BANGALORE. APPELLANT RESPONDENT APPELLANT BY : SHRI PRANAV KRISHNA, ADVOCATE RESPONDENT BY : SHRI AR.V. SREENIVASAN, JCIT (DR) DATE OF HEARING : 22.03.2017 DATE OF PRONOUNCEMENT : 31.03.2017 O R D E R PER VIJAY PAL RAO, JUDICIAL MEMBER THIS APPEAL BY THE ASSESSEE IS DIRECTED AGAINST TH E ORDER DATED 24.11.2016 OF CIT(A) FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2012-13. THE ASS ESSEE HAS RAISED THE FOLLOWING GROUNDS: ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 2 OF 19 6. THE LEARNED COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (APPEALS) -14 HAS RELIED ON THE JUDGEMENT OF ITAT IN THE CASE OF JYOT HY CHARITABLE TRUST, HOWEVER HAS IGNORED THE RULING OF THE HIGH C OURT IN THE CASE OF AL-AMEEN CHARITABLE FUND TRUST 383 ITR 517(KAR) WHE RE THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON ALLOWANCE OF DEPRECIATION. ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 3 OF 19 2. THE ONLY ISSUE ARISES IN THIS APPEAL OF THE ASSESSE E IS REGARDING DISALLOWANCE OF DEPRECATION ON THE GROUND THAT IT W OULD AMOUNT TO DOUBLE DEDUCTION. THE ASSESSEE IS A CHARITABLE TRUST REGI STERED U/S. 12A OF THE IT ACT. THE AO WHILE COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT U/S. 1 43(3) HAS INTER ALIA DISALLOWED THE CLAIM OF DEPRECIATION OF RS. 24,09,0 73/- ON THE GROUND THAT WHEN THE SAID EXPENSES WAS ALREADY ALLOWED AS APPLI CATION OF INCOME THEN THE DEPRECIATION WOULD AMOUNT AS DOUBLE DEDUCT ION. THE ASSESSEE CHALLENGED THE ACTION OF THE AO BEFORE THE CIT(A). THE CIT(A) THOUGH ON PRINCIPLE ACCEPTED THE CLAIM OF THE ASSESSEE HOW EVER IT WAS RESTRICTED TO RS. 16,89,073/- BY REDUCING THE CORPUS DONATION AMOUNT OF RS. 7,20,000/- RECEIVED DURING THE YEAR. 3. BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL, THE LD. AR OF THE ASSESSEE HAS SUBMITTED THAT THIS ISSUE IS COVERED IN FAVOUR OF THE ASSESSEE BY THE D ECISIONS OF JURISDICTIONAL ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 4 OF 19 HIGH COURT AS WELL AS THIS TRIBUNAL. HE HAS RELIED UPON THE DECISION DATED 20.05.2016 OF THIS TRIBUNAL IN CASE OF ACIT V S VISHWACHETAN FOUNDATION IBMR IN ITA NO. 957/BANG/2015. ON THE O THER HAND, THE LD. AR HAS SUBMITTED THAT THE DECISION OF THE HONBLE J URISDICTIONAL HIGH COURT HAS NOT ATTAINED FINALITY AS THE SLP FILED BY THE REVENUE HAS BEEN ADMITTED BY THE HONBLE SUPREME COURT FOR DECIDING THE MATTER ON MERITS. HE HAS RELIED UPON THE ORDER OF THE CIT(A) . 4. HAVING CONSIDERED THE RIVAL SUBMISSIONS AS WELL AS RELEVANT MATERIAL ON RECORD, IT IS NOTED THAT THIS ISSUE IS COVERED BY T HE DECISIONS OF THE JURISDICTIONAL HIGH COURT AND BY FOLLOWING THE SAID DECISION THE COORDINATE BENCH OF THE TRIBUNAL HAS DEALT WITH THI S ISSUE IN CASE OF ACIT VS VISHWACHETAN FOUNDATION IBMR (SUPRA) IN PARA 6 T O 9 AS UNDER: ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 5 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 6 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 7 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 8 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 9 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 10 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 11 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 12 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 13 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 14 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 15 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 16 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 17 OF 19 ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 18 OF 19 5. EVEN OTHERWISE THE CIT(A) HAS ALLOWED THE CLAIM OF THE ASSESSEE IN PRINCIPLE BY FOLLOWING THE VARIOUS DECISIONS OF HON BLE HIGH COURTS HOWEVER THE CLAIM WAS RESTRICTED BY REDUCING THE AM OUNT OF CORPUS ITA NO. 344/BANG/2017 PAGE 19 OF 19 DONATION OF RS. 7,20,000/-. ON PERUSAL OF THE IMPU GNED ORDER OF THE CIT(A) IT IS FOUND THAT THERE IS NO BASIS OF RESTRI CTING THE CLAIM OF DEPRECIATION BY REDUCING THE SAID AMOUNT OF CORPUS DONATION IF THE CLAIM OF DEPRECIATION IS IN RESPECT OF THE COST OF THE AS SETS. ACCORDINGLY, BY FOLLOWING THE EARLIER ORDER OF THIS TRIBUNAL THE CL AIM OF THE ASSESSEE IS ALLOWED. 6. IN THE RESULT THE APPEAL OF THE ASSESSEE IS ALLOWED . PRONOUNCED IN THE OPEN COURT ON THIS 31 ST DAY OF MARCH, 2017 SD/- (VIJAY PAL RAO) JUDICIAL MEMBER BANGALORE, DATED, THE 31 ST MARCH, 2017. / MS/ COPY TO: 1. APPELLANT 2. RESPONDENT 3. CIT 4. CIT(A) 5. DR, ITAT, BANGALORE. 6. GUARD FILE BY ORDER ASSISTANT REGISTRAR, ITAT, BANGALORE.