Nature Delight Multi State Co-operative Dairy & Agro Products Limited Vs DCIT (ITAT Pune)
Double TDS on the same transaction under Sections 194-O & 194-Q cannot justify proportionate denial of TDS credit- CPC must verify actual duplication before restricting credit.
Assessee, a multi-state co-operative dairy society, filed its return declaring income of ₹8,60,430 & claimed TDS credit of ₹22,62,226. CPC, while processing the return u/s 143(1), restricted the TDS credit to ₹19,63,053, disallowing ₹2,99,186 on the ground that Assessee’s declared turnover (₹82.84 crore) was lower than the turnover reflected in Form 26AS (₹95.46 crore).
Before CIT(A), Assessee explained that the difference arose because the same sale transactions were subject to double TDS deduction — once u/s 194-O by the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) as e-commerce operator, & again u/s 194-Q by the purchasing parties. Hence, the same sale appeared twice in Form 26AS, inflating both receipts & TDS. CIT(A), however, rejected the explanation & upheld CPC’s order.
Tribunal’s Findings
ITAT observed that Assessee’s explanation was plausible & supported by records. It noted that both 194-O & 194-Q applied on the same sales transaction, leading to duplicate TDS entries in Form 26AS. The CPC wrongly assumed they represented separate transactions.
