SRBC & Co. LLP Vs DCIT (ITAT Kolkata)
The appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata, arose from an order of the CIT(A), National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi, dated 1 December 2021, which originated from an intimation issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, CPC Bengaluru, under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act for Assessment Year 2017-18. The assessee challenged various adjustments made while processing the return, including taxation of dividend income under Section 115BBDA, alleged double taxation of income, short grant of TDS credit, and levy of interest under Sections 234B and 234C.
At the outset, the Tribunal considered a delay of 99 days in filing the appeal. The delay fell during the period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Referring to the Supreme Court’s directions in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020 excluding the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 for limitation purposes and granting an additional period of 90 days from 1 March 2022, the Tribunal condoned the delay and proceeded to hear the matter.
The assessee had originally filed its return on 30 October 2017 declaring total income of ₹41,15,79,882. While processing the return under Section 143(1), the CPC computed the taxable income at ₹41,55,30,701. The assessee filed an appeal against the adjustments made in the intimation. During the pendency of that appeal, however, the case was selected for scrutiny and an assessment order under Section 143(3) was passed on 24 December 2019. In that assessment, the Assessing Officer made a disallowance relating to a claim of exemption for provision for leave encashment under Section 43B(f). The assessee separately challenged that assessment order before the CIT(A), where the matter remained pending.
