Pandaveswar Colliery Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd Vs ITO (ITAT Kolkata)
ITAT Kolkata lets a cooperative society withdraw its appeal for AY 2018-19, preserving the right to refile if its Sec. 119(2)(b) petition for claiming 80P deductions is rejected.
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Kolkata dismissed an appeal filed by Pandaveswar Colliery Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. The cooperative society challenged an order from the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) for the assessment year 2018-19. The case originated when the society failed to file its return of income under Section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The Assessing Officer (AO) reopened the case under Section 148 of the Act after discovering cash transactions in the society’s bank account. Following the reopening, the society submitted its income computation, claiming deductions totaling Rs. 44,78,248. These included Rs. 11,58,311 under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) for providing credit facilities to members and Rs. 33,19,937 under Section 80P(2)(d) for interest and dividends from investments in other cooperative societies.
The AO denied the entire deduction claim, citing the society’s failure to file a return under Section 139(1). This decision was upheld by the NFAC. During the ITAT hearing, the society’s authorized representative requested to withdraw the appeal. The representative stated that the society had an alternative remedy, having filed a petition under Section 119(2)(b) before the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CIT), Asansol. This petition sought a condonation of the delay in filing the original income return to allow the society to claim the Section 80P deduction.
