Ujjwal Singh , Gurgaon V. DCIT, CPC , Bangalore

ITA 4597/DEL/2018

• Counselvise Citation: [2022] 106 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 6076 (ITAT-DELHI)
• Duration Of Justice: 4 year(s) 28 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 17-07-2022
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: G
• Assessment Year: 2016-2017
• Appeal Filed On: 19-06-2018
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Keywords: TDS
• Section: 22; 20

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “G” DELHI BEFORE SHRI SAKTIJIT DEY, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SHRI PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER I.T.A. No.4597/DEL/2018 Assessment Year 2016-17 Ujjwal Singh, C1-102, The Legend Apartments, Sushant Lok-3, Sector-57, Gurgaon, Haryana. Vs. DCIT, CPC Bangalore. TAN/PAN: ANXPS6618Q (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by: Shri Saten Sethi, Adv. Respondent by: Shri Abhishek Kumar, Sr.DR Date of hearing: 08 06 2022 Date of pronouncement: 18 07 2022 O R D E R PER PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, A.M.: Th e cap t io n ed ap peal h as b een fi led b y th e assess ee ag ain st th e o rd er o f th e l d . CIT(A)-I, Gu rgao n d ated 0 5 .0 4 .20 1 8 arisin g fro m th e in ti ma tio n o rd er p assed b y th e Assessin g Offi cer u n d er Sect io n 1 54 o f the Act d ated 1 0 .1 0.2 0 1 7 co n cern in g Assessmen t Year 2 0 1 6 -1 7 . 2 . Brie fly s ta ted , th e ass esse e d eclared in co me o f Rs.1 ,0 1 ,7 9 ,3 1 0 /- fo r th e Assess men t Year 2 0 1 6 -1 7 in q u estio n an d in ter a l ia cla i me d cred it fo r TDS amo u n tin g to Rs.5 ,7 0 ,5 1 6 /- d ed u cted b y d ed u cto r, n ame ly , KIN Fin serv LLP in the p reced in g Assessmen t Year 2 0 1 5 -1 6 . Th e assess ee h o wev er cla ime d cred it o f TDS in Assess men t Year 2 0 1 6 -1 7 on th e g ro u n d th at th e b il l was I.T.A. No.4597/Del/2018 2 raised in Fin an ci al Year 2 0 1 5 -1 6 o n 0 1 .08 .2 0 15 and th u s th e in co me a ccru ed in Assessmen t Year 2 0 16 -17 also in clu d ed in th e retu rn o f in co me i n th e Assessmen t Year 2 01 6 -1 7 n o twith stan d in g th e d ed u ctio n o f TDS by th e p ay er in Assessmen t Year 2 01 5 -1 6 . Th e assesse e cl ai ms to h av e rep o rted an in co me o f Rs.5 7 ,0 5 ,1 56 /- b ased o n in v o ices d ated 0 1 .0 8 .2 0 15 in th e Assess ment Year 2 0 15 - 1 6 an d acco rd in g ly th e assess ee is en ti tled to TDS cred it in th e y ear in wh ich th e i n co me is rep o rted , i.e ., Assess men t Year 2 0 16 - 1 7 in terms o f Se ctio n 1 9 9 (3 ) r.w. Ru le 3 7 BA(3 ) o f t h e In co me Tax Ru les . Th e A ssessin g Officer h o wev er d en ied th e cred i t o f TDS o f Rs.5 ,7 0 ,5 1 6 /- wh ile p ro cessin g th e retu rn u nder Sect io n 1 4 3 (1 ) p u rp o rted ly o n th e g ro u nd su ch TDS is n o t refle cted in th e an n u al in fo rma t io n state men t in fo rm 2 6 AS g en erated b y th e Rev en u e. Th e ass essee fi led rect i fi cat io n ap p lica tio n b efo re th e Assessin g Officer . Ho wev er, th e Assessin g Offi cer vid e o rd er d ated 1 0 .1 0 .2 0 17 den ied th e cred i t o f th e TDS in d isp u te . 3 . Th e assesse e p refe rred ap p eal b efo re th e CIT(A) ag ain s t th e afo resa id recti fica t io n o rd er p assed by th e Assessin g Offi cer. Th e CIT(A) v id e o rd er d ated 0 5 .0 4 .2 0 18 ho wev er d ismiss ed t h e ap p eal fo r th e reaso n th a t issu e i s d eb atab l e an d th u s o u tsid e th e sco p e o f Sect io n 1 5 4 o f th e Act. 4 . Ag g riev ed by th e imp u g n ed o rd er o f th e CIT(A) again st th e rect ifica t io n o rd er p assed b y th e Assessin g Offic er, th e assesse e p referred ap p eal b efo re th e Tr ib u n al. 5 . Wh en th e mat ter was cal led fo r h earin g , th e l earn ed fo r th e assesse e su b mi t te d th at in th e in s tan t c ase th e t ax h as b een d ed u cted by th e p ay er in Fin an cial Year 2 01 4 -1 5 relev an t to Assessmen t Year 2 0 1 5 -1 6 fo r wh ich t h e in v o ice was drawn b y th e I.T.A. No.4597/Del/2018 3 p ay ee in Fin an cial Year 2 01 5 -1 6 relev an t Assessmen t Year 2 01 6 - 1 7 . Th e assesse e t h u s h as in clu d ed an in co me o f Rs .5 7 , 0 5 ,1 56 /- in th e Assess men t Y ear 2 0 1 6 -1 7 , i.e. , in th e y ear in wh i ch in v o ice h as b een raised an d in co me ac cru ed t o th e assesse e. Ho wev er, th e Assessin g Offic er h ad d en ied th e co rresp o n d ing credit o f TDS in th e Assessmen t Year 2 0 16 -17 . Th e assesse e h as also n o t clai med th e cred it fo r TDS in Assessmen t Year 2 01 5 -1 6 wh ere the d ed u ctio n was carried o u t by th e p ay er an d reflec ted i n th e fo rm 2 6 AS o f th at Assessmen t Year. T h is h as resu lted in d o ub le jeo p ard y lead in g to p ay in g th e tax es twice . It was co n t en d ed th at with th e in sert io n o f Ru le 3 7 BA w.e. f. Assess men t Ye a r 2 0 09 -10 , th e law i s cl ear wi th o u t an y roo m fo r an y amb ig u ity wh en read in co n ju n ctio n with S ect io n 1 9 9 o f th e Act. As p er th e la w laid d o wn in Sect io n 1 99 r.w. Ru le 3 7 BA(3 ), th e cred it fo r T DS sh all b e allo wed b y th e Assessin g Officer in th e y ear wh en th e in co me h as b een o ffered b y th e assesse e. In th e in stan t case , th e i n co me h as b een o ffered b y th e ass essee in t h e y ear o f i ts a ccru ed in Assessmen t Year 20 1 6 -1 7 an d rig h tly so , h en ce th e credit fo r TDS d eserv es to b e a llo wed in Assessmen t Year 2 0 1 6-1 7 as cla i med in ter ms o f Sect io n 1 9 9 r.w. Ru le 3 7BA(3 ). A referen ce in th is reg ard was mad e to th e d ecis io n ren d ered in Ma h esh S o ftwa re S ystem Pvt . Ltd . v s. ACIT (2 0 2 0 ) 1 81 ITD 5 24 (Pu n e) an d; S h iv Ga ng e Dea lers Pv t. L td . vs . CPC (I TA No . 1 7 4 /INd /2 02 1 ) d a ted 1 7 .0 5 .20 2 2 d ealin g with a ca se ar is i n g o u t o f o rd er p assed u nd er Sect io n 1 54 o f th e Act. In th e l ig h t o f th e fac tu al ma trix an d th e clear p o sit io n o f l aw, it was su b mi t t ed th at refu sal to g ran t TDS cred it in Assess me n t Year 2 0 1 6 -1 7 is ag ain st th e man d ate o f law an d ap p aren t erro r o n th e co n to u rs o f Sect io n 1 5 4 of th e Act. 6 . Ld . DR fo r th e Re v en u e relied u p o n th e o rd er o f th e l o wer I.T.A. No.4597/Del/2018 4 au th o ritie s. 7 . Th e Co -o rd in ate Ben ch o f Trib u n al in M/s . In ter glo b e En terp rises Pv t. Lt d . v s. ACIT, New Delh i o rd er d ated 0 7 .0 6 .20 22 h as d eal t wi th id en tic al is su e as u n d er: “ 5 . We h a v e c a r e f u l l y c o n s i d e r e d t h e r i v a l s u b m i s s io n s . I t i s t h e c a s e o f t h e a s s e s s e e t h a t w h e n t h e i s s u e o f a v a i l a bi l i t y o f T D S c r e d i t i n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e a s s e s s m e n t y e a r i s e x a m i ne d i n t h e l i g h t o f S e c t i o n 1 9 9 ( 3 ) r . w . R u l e 3 7 B A ( 3 ) o f t h e I n c o m e Ta x R u l e s , i t w o u l d b e c l e a r t h a t c r e d i t f o r t a x d e d u c t e d a t s o u rc e a n d p a i d t o t h e C e n t r a l G o v e r n m e n t , s h a l l b e g i v e n f o r t h e a s s es s m e n t y e a r f o r w h i c h s u c h i n c o m e i s a s s e s s a b l e . T h e a s s e s s e e c o n t en d s t h a t t h e T D S c r e d i t i s a v a i l a b l e i n t h e f i n a n c i a l y e a r w h e r e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g i n c o m e h a s b e e n r e f e r r e d b y t h e a s s e ss e e . A r e f e r e n c e w a s m a d e t o t h e d e c i s i o n o f t h e C o - o r d i n at e B e n c h i n t h e c a s e o f G r e a t s h i p I n d i a L t d . v s . D C I T i n I T A N o . 5 5 62 / M u m / 2 0 1 8 o r d e r d a t e d 8 t h J u n e , 2 0 2 0 t o c o n t e n d t h a t t h e T D S c r e d i t c a n n o t b e p o s t p o n e d t o a d i f f e r e n t a s s e s s m e n t y e a r o n t h e b a s i s o f d e d u c t i o n c a r r i e d o u t b y t h e d e d u c t o r w h e n t h e a c c ru e d i n c o m e f r o m s u c h t r a n s a c t i o n h a s b e e n r e p o r t e d i n t h e e a r li e r a s s e s s m e n t y e a r . 6 . A c o m b i n e d r e a d i n g o f S e c t i o n 1 9 9 ( 3 ) r . w . R u l e 37 B A ( 3 ) m a k e s t h e p o s i t i o n o f l a w c l e a r t h a t c r e d i t f o r T D S i s a v a i l a b l e i n t h e y e a r i n w h i c h t h e i n c o m e i s r e p o r t e d a n d a s a co r o l l a r y , s h o u l d n o t b e d e f e r r e d t o s o m e o t h e r a s s e s s m e n t y e a r . I n th e i n s t a n t c a s e , t h e R e v e n u e h a s a l l o w e d t h e c r e d i t i n t h e s u b s e q u e nt a s s e s s m e n t y e a r w h e n t h e T D S i s s h o w n t o h a v e b e e n c r e d i t e d i n t h e f o r m 2 6 A S . H o w e v e r , a s s t a t e d o n b e h a l f o f t h e a s s e s s e e , t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g i n c o m e w i l l n o t b e f o u n d t o b e r e c o r de d a n d t h e r e f o r e s u c h d i r e c t i o n w o u l d b e l i e t h e l e t t e r a n d s p i r i t o f S e c t i o n 1 9 9 ( 3 ) a n d R u l e 3 7 B A (3 ) t h e r e t o . T h u s , o n f i r s t p r in c i p l e s , w e a r e i n c l i n e d t o a g r e e w i t h t h e s t a n d t a k e n o n b e h a l f o f t h e a s s e s s e e f o r I.T.A. No.4597/Del/2018 5 e l i g i b i l i t y T D S c r e d i t i n t h e A s s e s s m e n t Y e a r 2 0 1 6 -1 7 i t s e l f w h e n i n c o m e h a s b e e n c l a i m e d t o h a v e a c c r u e d / a r i s e n a n d i n c l u d e d f o r d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o c h a r g e a b l e i n c o m e . ” 8 . Th u s, th e p o si tio n o f l aw b ein g c lear, we h av e no h esi ta tio n to accep t th e p le a o f th e assess ee . Den ial o f TDS cred it in co n trad ict io n to th e p lain p ro v isio n s o f Sec tio n 1 99 r.w. Sect io n Ru le 3 7 BA is cle arly in th e le ag u e o f ap p aren t error an d th u s liab le to b e re ct i fi e d u n d er Sectio n 1 5 4 o f th e Act. 9 . Hen ce, th e asse sse e wo u ld b e en title d to clai m of cr ed it o f TDS co rrespo n d ing to th e in co me r ep o rted in Assessmen t Year 2 0 16 -17 itsel f, p ro v id ed th e assesse e h as n o t clai med an y cred it fo r TDS in earlier Assessmen t Year 2 0 15 -16 . On b eing sati sfied , th e Assessin g Officer sh a ll g ran t t h e TDS cred it in ter ms o f o b serv atio n s mad e h erein ab o v e. Th e imp u g n ed o rder of th e CIT(A) is set as id e an d th e mat ter r esto red b ack to th e fil e o f th e Assessin g Offi cer fo r g ran t o f cred i t in acco rd an ce wi th law. 9 . In th e resu lt, th e ap p eal o f th e a ssessee is a llo we d fo r sta tis ti ca l p u rp o ses. Order pronounced in the open Court on 18/07/2022. Sd/- Sd/- [SAKTIJIT DEY] [PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA] JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER DATED: /07/2022 Prabhat