No disallowance u/s. 14A in relation to shares held as stock-in-trade

Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka have recently considered the disallowance of expenses incurred on borrowings made for purchase of trading shares u/s. 14A of the I.T. Act in case of CCL Ltd. vs. JCIT (supra). The assessee in that case was distributor of state lotteries and a dealer in shares and securities. The assessee had taken loans for the purchase of certain shares and it had incurred expenditure for broking the loans which had  been disallowed under Rule 8D by the A.O. and confirmed by the Ld.CIT(A). The Tribunal agreed with the authorities below that the expenditure relatable to earning of dividend income though incidental to the trading in shares was also to be disallowed u/s. 14A of the I.T. Act. The Tribunal however, had observed that the entire broking commission was not relatable to earning of dividend income as the loan had been utilised for the purchase of shares and the profit shown from the sale of shares had been offered as business income. The Tribunal, therefore, directed the A.O. to bifurcate the expenditure proportionately. The order of the Tribunal was however, not upheld by the Tribunal. The High Court noted that 63% of shares which were purchased were sold and income derived was offered to tax as business income. The remaining 30% of shares which remained unsold had reverted to dividend income for which the assessee had not incurred any expenditure at all. The High Court also observed that the assessee had not retained the shares with the intention of earning dividend income which was incidental due to his sale of shares which remained unsold by the assessee. The High Court, therefore, did not uphold the order of the Tribunal disallowing the expenditure in relation to the dividend from shares. Thus there being a direct judgment of a Hon’ble High Court on this issue, the same has to be followed in preference to the decision of the Special Bench of the Tribunal in the case of M/s. Daga Capital Management P. Ltd. (supra).  Infact, we note that the Tribunal in the case of Ganjam Treading Co. Ltd. (supra) has already considered this situation and held that in view of the judgment of Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in the case of CCL Ltd. Vs. JCIT (supra) the disallowance of interest in relation to the dividend received from trading shares cannot be made. We, therefore, see no infirmity in the order of the Ld. CIT(A) in deleting the disallowance u/s. 14A computed by the A.O. in relation to the stock-in-trade. The order of the Ld.CIT(A) is accordingly upheld.

INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL , MUMBAI

ITA No. : 6711/Mum/2011 Assessment Year: 2008-09

DCIT

Vs.

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