I.T.O. Vs Bajaj Roadways (ITAT Kolkata)
Assessee had merely hired the lorries and there was no contract between assessee and the concerned payees, i.e., truck owners. Since the assessee did not delegate its liability of transportation of goods to the truck owners by way of any contract or sub-contract, therefore, the payments made by the assessee to the truck owners for carriage of goods did not fulfill the condition of “carrying out any work in pursuance of a contract” in terms of section 194C. Thus, the assessee was not liable to deduct tax at source in respect of the lorry charges and accordingly the rigours of section 40(a)(ia) were not applicable.
FULL TEXT OF THE ITAT JUDGMENT
This Revenue’s appeal for A.Y.2005-06 calls into question the CIT(A)-12, Kolkata’s order dated 19.07.20 16 passed in Appeal No.90/CIT(A)-12/Kol/Ward-40(3)/2015-16 reversing the Assessing Officer’s action invoking section 40(a)(ia) disallowance in case of lorry payments and adding unexplained cash credits u/s 68 in assessee’s partners’ capital account involving sums of Rs.1,43,01,395/- and Rs.64, 10,000/-; respectively involving proceedings u/s 147 r.w.s. 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (Act).
2. The Revenue invites our attention towards assessment order dated 22.03.2013 indicating the tax payer not to have deducted any TDS on the impugned lorry payments totalling to Rs. 1,43,01,395/-. He states that there is no dispute that the said payments had been made without deducting any TDS thereupon attracting section 194C r.w.s. 40(a)(ia) of the Act for the purpose of making disallowance in question.
3. Mr. S.Dasgupta, Addl. CIT(DR) thereafter takes us to the CIT(A)’s findings on the instant issue reading as under :-
“I have carefully considered the submissions of the appellant and the assessment order. I find force in the submissions of the appellant. The details submitted clearly show that payments were made to different owners of the trucks that the appellant had hired and very clearly does not amount to any sort of contract or sub contract as envisaged in “Section 40. Which reads Amounts not
deductible.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in sections 30 to 38, the following amount shall not be deducted in computing the “income chargeable under the head “Profits and gains business or profession”, –
