{"id":18457,"date":"2018-05-10T16:31:26","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T11:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/?p=18457"},"modified":"2018-05-10T16:31:26","modified_gmt":"2018-05-10T11:01:26","slug":"lally-motors-india-p-ltd-vs-pcit-itat-amritsar-disallowance-u-s-14a-rule-8d-has-to-be-made-even-if-the-assessee-has-not-earned-any-tax-free-income-on-the-investment-cheminvest-378-itr-33-del-is-n","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/lally-motors-india-p-ltd-vs-pcit-itat-amritsar-disallowance-u-s-14a-rule-8d-has-to-be-made-even-if-the-assessee-has-not-earned-any-tax-free-income-on-the-investment-cheminvest-378-itr-33-del-is-n\/","title":{"rendered":"Lally Motors India (P.) Ltd vs. PCIT (ITAT Amritsar)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>4.2 The second, equally relevant, aspect of the matter is if the  provision could be    invoked in the absence of any tax-exempt income. Toward this,  while the ld.    Pr.CIT relies on the Board <a href=\"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/cbdt-circular-on-application-of-section-14a-and-rule-8d\/\">Circular 5\/2014<\/a>, the ld. Authorized  Representative    (AR), the assessee&rsquo;s counsel, was during hearing at pains to  emphasize that the    same stands since &lsquo;torn apart&rsquo; by the Hon&#8217;ble High Courts (<a href=\"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/cheminvest-ltd-v-cit-delhi-high-court-no-disallowance-us-14a-can-be-made-in-a-year-in-which-no-exempt-income-has-been-earned-or-received-by-the-assessee-s-14a-also-does-not-apply-to-shares-bought-f\/\">Cheminvest Ltd. in ITA No. 794\/2014, dated 02\/9\/2015<\/a>), so that  it is bereft of any    value. On being asked if the same had been set aside or stayed by  any High Court,    he would though admit of it being not the case. The question is  not which of the    two is correct (view) or more correct, but if same is binding on  the A.O. as an    assessing authority. The reason is simple. The A.O., despite an  order by the    revisionary authority directing him to do so, cannot pass an order  consistent with    the Board Circular where the same has been struck down by a  competent court,    unless, of course, the same stands, at the same time, upheld by  the Hon&#8217;ble    jurisdictional High Court. In fact, even a decision by the said  Court (or by the    Hon&#8217;ble Apex Court) contrary to the dictum of the said Circular,  i.e., without it    being stayed or struck down by any court, shall have same effect,  so that the said    Circular would in that case loose its binding force on the AO.  Further, a decision    by a non-jurisdictional High Court shall not have the same affect  in-as-much as the    same is not binding on the AO (refer: <em>Suresh Desai &amp; Ass. v. CIT <\/em>[1998] 230 ITR    912 (Del); <em>Geoffery  Manners &amp; Co. Ltd. v. CIT <\/em>[1996]  221 ITR 695 (Bom); <em>CIT v<\/em>. <em>Thane Electricity Supply Ltd. <\/em>[1994] 206 ITR 797 (Bom); <em>Patil Vijayakumar v.<\/em> <em>Union of India <\/em>[1985] 151 ITR 48 (Kar)). No such decision by either the Hon&rsquo;ble    jurisdictional High Court or the Hon&rsquo;ble Apex Court has been  brought to our    notice.<\/p>\n<p>The moot question therefore is if the said Circular is in  conformity with the    law. Section 14A, immediately succeeds section 14 &ndash; the first  section of Chapter    IV of the Act, enumerating the heads of income under which all  income, subject to    the other provisions of the Act, is to be classified for the  purpose of computation of    total income, introduced by Finance Act, 2001 w.r.e.f. 01.04.1962  (since    renumbered as 14A (1)), reads as under:<\/p>\n<p><strong>&lsquo;Expenditure incurred in relation to income <\/strong><strong><em>not includible <\/em><\/strong><strong>in total<\/strong> <strong>income<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>14A.<\/strong>(1) <em>For the purposes of computing  the total income under this<\/em> <em>Chapter<\/em>,  no deduction shall be allowed in respect of expenditure    incurred by the assessee in relation to income which does not form  part    of the total income under this Act.&rsquo;    [emphasis, supplied]_<\/p>\n<p>The issue is if section 14A(1) would stand attracted even if such  income, i.e.,    income not includible in the total income, is not actually earned,  of course, subject    to expenditure relatable to such income having been incurred. The  Circular 5\/2014,    after explaining the rationale of the provision of section 14A  (with reference to    Circular 14 of 2001), i.e., to curb the practice of reducing the  tax liability on    taxable income (i.e., income forming part of the total income) by  claiming    expenditure incurred in earning tax-exempt income against taxable  income, goes    on to state that the legislative intent is that the expenditure <em>relatable to earning<\/em> <em>such income <\/em>shall  have to be considered for disallowance. Surely, in that event i.e.,    expenditure relating to earning tax-exempt income having been  incurred, it would    become irrelevant if the exempt income has actually materialized  or not, so that the    disallowance of the said expenditure u\/s. 14A would ensue. The  same therefore is    only a continuation of Circular 14 of 2001, taking the premise of  section 14A to its    logical conclusion. And which is to apply the basic principle of  taxation, i.e., that it    is only the net income &#8211; taxable or non-taxable, i.e., net of all  expenditure incurred    for earning the same, that could be subject to tax or, as the case  may be, exempt    from tax. The latter Circular, which is again in consonance with  the Memorandum    explaining the provisions of Finance Bill, 2001 (introducing  section 14A) as well    as the Notes to the Clauses presented along with the said Bill,  has been noted with    approval by the Hon&#8217;ble Apex Court in <a href=\"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/cit-vs-walfort-share-stock-brokers-supreme-court-pre-s-947-dividend-stripping-loss-cannot-be-disallowed-transaction-cannot-be-ignored-on-ground-that-it-is-for-tax-planning\/\"><em>CIT v. Walfort Share &amp; Stock Brokers P.<\/em> <em>Ltd<\/em><\/a>.  [2010] 326 ITR 1 (SC), holding as under: (pgs. 15-16)<\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;The insertion of section 14A with retrospective effect is the  serious attempt on the    part of Parliament not to allow deduction in respect of any  expenditure incurred by    the assessee in relation to income, which does not form part of  the total income    under the Act against the taxable income (see Circular No. 14 of  2001 dated    November 22, 2001). <em>In other words, section 14A clarifies that expenses incurred<\/em> <em>can be allowed only to the extent they are relatable  to the earning of taxable<\/em> <em>income<\/em>.  In many cases the nature of expenses incurred by the assessee may be    relatable partly to the exempt income and partly to the taxable  income. In the    absence of section 14A, the expenditure incurred in respect of  exempt income was    being claimed against taxable income. The mandate of section 14A  is clear. It    desires to curb the practice to claim deduction of expenses  incurred in relation to    exempt income against taxable income and at the same time avail of  the tax    incentive by way of exemption of exempt income without making any    apportionment of expenses incurred in relation to exempt income.  The basic reason    for insertion of section 14A is that certain incomes are not  includible while    computing total income as these are exempt under certain  provisions of the Act.&rsquo;<\/p>\n<p>The issue, thus, considered in perspective, is not if the income  not forming the part    of the total income (the tax-exempt income) is earned or not, but  if expenditure    relatable to such income has been incurred. If such expenditure  stands incurred,    section 14A(1) becomes applicable. With regard to the scope of the  relatable    expenditure, the Apex Court clarified the same with reference to  any expenditure    enumerated in sections 15 to 59 (para 17, pgs. 16-17 of the  Reports). The question    is simple. If taxable income (i.e., income forming part of the  total income) is to be    added at net of relatable expenditure, how could it be otherwise  for the tax-exempt    income? Rather, if not so considered, not only would it violate  the basic principle    of taxation, it would defeat the very purpose of section 14A, as  expenditure    relatable to tax-exempt income, where not earned, would get  charged against    taxable income. The actual earning of income &#8211; taxable or not  taxable, as is    apparent, and as we shall presently see, is irrelevant for the  admissibility of such    expenditure against the relevant income.<\/p>\n<p>The afore-referred decision by the Apex Court stands followed and    explained at length in<em>_<\/em><em><a href=\"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/godrej-boyce-manufacturing-co-ltd-vs-dcit-supreme-court-s-14a-disallowance-has-to-be-made-also-with-respect-to-dividend-on-shares-and-units-on-which-tax-is-payable-by-the-payer-us-115-o-115-r-arg\/\">Godrej &amp; Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.  v. Dy. CIT<\/a> <\/em>[2010] 328 ITR 81    (Bom), culling out the principles laid down therein, as under:  (para 31, pgs. 98-99)_<\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;31. The following principles would emerge from s. 14A and the  decision in <em>Walfort <\/em>(supra):<\/p>\n<p>(a) The mandate of s. 14A is to prevent claims for deduction of  expenditure in    relation to income which does not form part of the total income of  the assessee;<\/p>\n<p>(b) Sec. 14A(1) is enacted to ensure that only <em>expenses incurred in respect of<\/em> <em>earning taxable income are allowed<\/em>;<\/p>\n<p>(c) The principle of apportionment of expenses is widened by s.  14A to include    even the apportionment of expenditure between taxable and  non-taxable income of    an indivisible business;<\/p>\n<p>(d) The basic principle of taxation is to tax net income. This  principle applies even    for the purposes of s. 14A and expenses <em>towards <\/em>non-taxable  income must be    excluded;<\/p>\n<p>(e) Once a proximate cause for disallowance is established &#8211; which  is the    relationship of the expenditure with income which does not form  part of the total    income &#8211; a disallowance has to be effected. All expenditure  incurred <em>in relation to<\/em> <em>income <\/em>which  does not form part of the total income under the provisions of the    Act has to be disallowed under s. 14A. Income which does not form  part of the    total income is broadly adverted to as exempt income as an  abbreviated    appellation.&rsquo;    (emphasis, ours)<\/p>\n<p>Continuing further, with specific reference to the apportionment  of    expenditure in relation to the income not forming part of the  total income, it would    be relevant to reproduce from the extracted part of the decision  in <em>Walfort Share &amp;<\/em> <em>Stock Brokers P. Ltd<\/em>. (supra), as under, to which decision abundant  reference    stands made by the Hon&rsquo;ble Court: (para 51, pgs. 106-107)<\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;51. We have also been fortified in the conclusion which we have  drawn, by the    judgment of the Supreme Court in <em>Walfort <\/em>(supra). The Supreme Court has in  the    following observation expressly held that since dividend income  does not form part    of the total income, the expenditure that is <em>incurred in the earning of such income<\/em> cannot be allowed even though it is of a nature specified in ss.  15 to 59 :<\/p>\n<p>&quot;If an income like dividend income is not a part of the total  income, the    expenditure\/deduction though <em>of the nature specified in ss. 15 to 59 <\/em>but related to    the income not forming part of the total income could not be  allowed against other    income includible in the total income for the purpose of  chargeability to tax.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Having observed thus, the Supreme Court held that the theory  apportioning    expenditure between taxable and non-taxable income has now, in principle,  been    widened under s. 14A. Hence, for the reasons that we have  indicated earlier, we    hold that income from dividend on shares is, in the hands of the  recipient    shareholder, income which does not form part of the total income.  Hence, s. 14A    would apply and the <em>expenditure incurred in earning such income <\/em>would have to    be disallowed. Income from mutual fund stands on the same footing.&rsquo;    (emphasis, ours)<\/p>\n<p>Continuing our discussion, how, one may ask, could the expenditure    incurred in earning tax-exempt income stand altered, either in  nature or in    quantum, depending on the quantum of the tax-exempt income, which  could    therefore be nil. The expenditure is incurred to produce or  generate or in    anticipation of, income, whether taxable or non-taxable. In fact,  the classification    as to tax status (i.e., taxable or non-taxable) has nothing to do  with the income    generating process; an income being, as a matter of fiscal  incentive, being granted    tax-exempt status, viz. agricultural income, under the Act, for  the time being. <\/p>\n<p>An    income exempt as per the extant law may not be so earlier or in  fact even in future;    the law witnessing a variation in this respect from time to time.  The quantum of    income that may arise is however, largely, uncertain, and which  may be higher or    lower (including nil) than the volume of the expenditure incurred.  It is the latter    case which results in the phenomenon of &lsquo;loss&#8217;, which could thus  be across both the    categories of income, i.e., tax-exempt and taxable. The fact of  the having incurred    expenditure for earning income &ndash; tax-exempt (or non-exempt), which  is largely a    question of fact, would thus remain, and not undergo any change,  irrespective of    whether it has resulted in any income (of either genre), or in a  sum lower than the    expenditure incurred toward the same. The principle is  well-settled, representing a    fundamental concept of taxation, i.e., the allowability (or  otherwise) of an    expenditure would not depend upon whether it has in fact resulted  in an income,    i.e., positive income, which is in any case a matter subsequent,  and that the mere    fact that expenditure stands incurred for the purpose is  sufficient for its    admissibility, explained by the Apex Court in <em>CIT v. Rajendra Prasad Mody<\/em> [1978] 115 ITR 519 (SC). The Apex Court was in that case examining  the true    interpretation of section 57(iii), which employed the words_ &lsquo;any expenditure (not    being in the nature of capital expenditure) laid out or expended  for the purpose of    making or earning such income&rsquo;, the question of law raised before  it reading as    under:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;<em>Whether, on the facts and in the  circumstances of the case, interest<\/em> <em>on money borrowed for investment in shares which had  not yielded<\/em> <em>any dividend is admissible under s. 57(iii)<\/em>?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Revenue&rsquo;s contention was that the words of s. 57(iii) being  narrower,    contrasting them with the language of section 37(1), which allowed  any    expenditure laid out or expended wholly and exclusively for the  purpose of    business or profession in computing business income, the making or  earning of    income was a <em>sine qua  non <\/em>to the admissibility of the  expenditure u\/s. 57(iii). <em>And,<\/em> <em>therefore, where no income resulted, no expenditure  would be deductible<\/em>. The    Apex Court, after a review of the judicial precedents, which it  cited with    abundance, also reproducing there-from, rejected the Revenue&rsquo;s  contention, stating    that the plain and natural construction of the <em>language of s. 57(iii) irresistibly leads<\/em> <em>to the conclusion that to bring a case within the  section, it is not necessary that any<\/em> <em>income should in fact have been earned as a result of  the expenditure <\/em>(pg. 522 of    the Reports). <\/p>\n<p>Any other interpretation, to our mind, would not  meet the test of    equity and be liable to be regarded as arbitrary. The Apex Court  in fact pointed out    to the oddity of the situation arising out of the Revenue&rsquo;s  argument, giving an    example (at page 522-523 of the Reports) where an expenditure of  Rs.1,000\/- (say)    would not be deductible if no income was earned, while would get  allowed even if    Re. 1 was earned, resulting in a loss of Rs.999 under the head &ldquo;Income  from other    sources&rdquo;. This is also &ndash; inasmuch as the expenditure has not  resulted in any    dividend income, the assessee&rsquo;s argument or claim in the instant  case and, thus,    liable to be ousted with equal force, even as the words employed  in section 57(iii)    &ndash; which in any case had to be heeded to, were indeed narrower than  the scope of    the words employed in section 14A, and which have been interpreted  by the    Hon&#8217;ble Courts as implying any expenditure, direct or indirect,  which has a    proximate nexus with or is attributable to the income under  reference. Going by the    example of the present case, if interest expenditure is incurred  for acquiring and    holding the shares, it would be so &#8211; a matter of fact, and it  would matter little    whether dividend income, or in whatever sum, stands earned. If it  stands incurred,    it is so, even if and irrespective that no dividend thereon has  been declared and,    thus, earned. This may be despite the relevant company having  earned adequate    profits to be able to declare dividend, being essentially a matter  of business policy    and prerogative of the Management. Expenditure by way of interest  has, in either    case, i.e., the dividend being declared or not, <em>been incurred in earning that income<\/em>,    that is, in relation to that income and, therefore, would require  being determined    and excluded, being in relation to income not forming a part of  the total income.<\/p>\n<p>As afore-noted, this aspect stands amply explained in <em>Rajendra Prasad Mody<\/em> (supra), pointing to the oddity that arises when expenditure is  recognized only    when it produces a positive gross income. One may pause here to  note that interest    shall fall either u\/s. 36(1)(iii) or u\/s. 57(iii), i.e., fall  within sections 15 to 59, where    the income under reference (viz. dividend income) was to be  considered as    otherwise assessable as either &lsquo;business income&rsquo; or as &lsquo;income  from other sources&rsquo;.<\/p>\n<p>The principle informing the legislation of section 14A, or its  insertion on the    statute-book, which the Circulars by the Board have sought to  explain and impress    upon, stands upheld by the Hon&#8217;ble Apex Court as well as by the  Hon&#8217;ble Courts,    explaining and following its&rsquo; decision, also upholding the  constitutionality of r.    8D, prescribing the method and procedure for apportionment of  expenses. The    principle, i.e., of only the net income being liable to tax and,  therefore, the income    which is not liable to tax &#8211; is well-settled, and in fact basic to  the taxing statutes for    the taxing of income, <em>and does not admit of two views<\/em>. This also explains it being    made applicable w.r.e.f. 01\/4\/1962, i.e., from the date the Act  itself comes into    effect. Section 14A, as may now be clear, is toward providing the  legislative    framework for operationalizing the said principle by way of  apportionment of the    relevant expenditure, i.e., between taxable or non-taxable  income\/s, which assumes    particular significance where incurred for an undivisible  business. Why, direct    expenditure in relation to tax-exempt income, as agriculture  income (say), would    get excluded for being allowed as deduction in computing taxable  income even in    the absence of section 14A, i.e., on the basis of principle of net  income, i.e., net of    expenditure incurred in relation to such income, as liable to tax  (or to be excluded    in computing the taxable income), as explained by the Tribunal in  per its decision    in <em>ITO v. Daga Capital Management  Pvt. Ltd. <\/em>[2009] 312 ITR (AT) 1 (Mum)    (SB); <em>Damani Estates &amp; Finance  (P.) Ltd. <\/em>[2013] 25 ITR (Trib) 683 (Mum); <em>D. H.<\/em> <em>Securities (P.) Ltd. v. Dy. CIT <\/em>[2013] 31 ITR (Trib) 381 (Mum), to cite some. <\/p>\n<p>How    could, one may ask, the agriculture expenditure incurred for  agricultural activity,    be claimed or allowed against taxable (as, say, business) income.  This is as there is    no question of apportionment of such expenditure, which arises  only in the case of    indirect expenditure, which could be either interest or any other,  viz. administrative    expenditure.<\/p>\n<p>Reference in this regard may finally be made to the recent  decision by the    Hon&rsquo;ble Apex Court in <a href=\"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/maxopp-investment-ltd-vs-cit-supreme-court-s-14a-rule-8d-applicability-to-shares-held-for-controlling-interest-or-as-stock-in-trade-the-argument-that-s-14a-rule-8d-will-not-apply-if-the-domi\/\"><em>Maxopp Investment Ltd. &amp; Ors. v. CIT <\/em><\/a>(in CA Nos. 104-    109 of 2015, dated February 12, 2018 \/ copy on record). For our  purposes, para 3    of the Judgment is of prime relevance, and which we reproduce as  under:<\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;3. Though, it is clear from the plain language of the aforesaid  provision that no    deduction is to be allowed in respect of expenditure incurred by  the assessee in    relation to income which does not form part of the total income  under the Act, the    effect whereof is that if certain income is earned which is not  to be included while    computing total income, any expenditure incurred to earn that  income is also not    allowed as a deduction. It is well known that tax is leviable on  the net income. <em>Net<\/em> <em>income is arrived at after deducting the  expenditure incurred in earning that<\/em> <em>income<\/em>.  Therefore, from the gross income, <em>expenditure incurred to earn that<\/em> <em>income <\/em>is  allowed as a deduction and thereafter tax is levied on the net income.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose behind Section 14A of the Act, by not permitting  deduction of the    expenditure incurred in relation to income, which does not form  part of total    income, is to ensure that the assessee does not get double  benefit. Once a particular    income itself is not to be included in the total income and is  exempted from tax, <em>there is no reasonable basis for giving benefit of  deduction of the expenditure<\/em> <em>incurred in earning such an income<\/em>. For example, income in the form of dividend    earned on shares held in a company is not taxable. If a person  takes interest bearing    loan from the Bank and invests that loan in shares\/stocks,  dividend earned    therefrom is not taxable. Normally, interest paid on the loan  would be expenditure    incurred for earning dividend income. Such an interest would not  be allowed as    deduction as it is an expenditure incurred in relation to  dividend income which    itself is spared from tax net. <em>There is no quarrel upto this extent<\/em>.&rsquo; (emphasis,    ours)<\/p>\n<p>The principle behind section 14A and its applicability, and toward  which the    Hon&rsquo;ble Court cites an example &#8211; which is the same as that obtains  in the present    case, is so well established that the Apex Court itself finds the  same as settled and    not disputed. The applicability of sec. 14A does not hinge on the  actual earning of    the tax-exempt income. Reference for the purpose may be made to  the majority of    view in <em>Daga Capital Management Pvt.  Ltd. <\/em>(supra) (at para 8 of the  Judgment),    noted with the approval by Hon&#8217;ble Apex Court, as well as the  arguments made    before the Hon&#8217;ble High Court, pleading that the actual earning of  dividend income    was immaterial in-as-much as the relatable expenditure would  remain the same (at    para 30 of the Judgment), and which the Hon&rsquo;ble Court found as so,  noting that it    would be earned by a quirk of fate where shares are held as &lsquo;stock-in-trade&rsquo;,  while    would stand to be earned whenever dividend is declared on shares  held as    investment &#8211; as in the present case, as in either case, section  14A gets attracted    (para 40). The dispute in that case was with regard to the scope  of the words &lsquo;in    relation thereto&rsquo; occurring in section 14A(1) as well as the  relevance of the object    for which the investment yielding (or liable to yield) tax-exempt  income is made,    on which there was variance between different High Courts. The  words &lsquo;in relation    thereto&rsquo; were clarified to be accorded an expansive meaning so as  to sub-serve the    legislative intent behind sec. 14A, and the theory of predominant  object had no    place in the scheme of s. 14A.<\/p>\n<p>5. <em>In sum<\/em> The principle that it is the net income, i.e., net of expenditure  relatable    thereto, which is subject to tax and, correspondingly, not liable  to tax, i.e., where it    does not form part of the total income, is well established.  Equally well settled is    the principle that once an income is liable (or not liable) to  tax, all expenditure    relatable thereto is to be reckoned, and it matters little that  the said expenditure has    indeed resulted in a positive income, or in whatever sum. It is in  fact this, i.e., the    expenditure being higher than the gross income, which could be  nil, that leads to    the phenomenon of loss, which could therefore be across both the  categories    income, i.e., taxable or non-taxable, being essentially a matter  of fact. <\/p>\n<p>The    interpretation of the words &lsquo;for earning such income&rsquo; stands  already settled by the    Apex Court in <em>Rajendra  Prasad Mody <\/em>(supra). To therefore recognize  relatable    expenditure where it fructifies in a positive income is  misconceived. It is, it may be    appreciated, the quality of the expenditure that determines its  deductibility and not    its quantum or effect, i.e., where it stands incurred for the  stated purpose. Given the    premise of section 14A, i.e., to exclude income not forming part  of the total    income in computing the &lsquo;total income&rsquo;, with a view to determine  the latter    correctly, and the two principles afore-referred, the proposition  under reference,    i.e., to exclude all expenditure relatable to the earning of  income not forming part    of the total income, irrespective of its quantum, becomes  axiomatic, even as noted    by the Hon&#8217;ble Apex Court in <em>Maxopp Investment Ltd<\/em>.  (supra). Para 32 thereof    reads as under:<\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;32. In the first instance, it needs to be recognized that as  per section 14A(1) of the    Act, deduction of that expenditure is not to be allowed which  has been incurred by    the assessee &ldquo;in relation to income which does not form part of  the total income    under this Act&rdquo;. <em>Axiomatically<\/em>,  it is that expenditure alone which has been incurred    in relation to the income which is (not) includible in total  income that has to be    disallowed. If an expenditure incurred has no causal connection  with the exempted    income, then such an expenditure would obviously be treated as  not related to the    income that is exempted from tax, and such expenditure would be  allowed as    business expenditure. To put it differently, such expenditure  would then be    considered as incurred in respect of other income which is to be  treated as part of    the total income.&rsquo;<\/p>\n<p>Where, one wonders, then, is the scope for two views. Relying  extensively on its    decision in <em>Walfort  Share &amp; Stock Brokers P. Ltd<\/em>.  (supra), the Apex Court upheld    the theory of apportionment, discountenancing the theory of  predominant object.<\/p>\n<p>The uncertainty of earning the dividend income, or of it being  earned incidentally,    was also noted by it, though to no moment. It was immaterial if  dividend income    was actually earned or not, which, rather, may be a consideration  where the shares,    as in the present case, are held to retain control over the  investee company, i.e., for    strategic reasons, as was the case with regard to the investment  by <em>Maxopp<\/em> <em>Investment Ltd<\/em>.  &ndash; one of the assessees in that case. The related expenditure has to    be reckoned on an expansive basis, i.e., as attributable thereto.  The    constitutionality of r.8D, providing for rules of apportionment of  both direct and    indirect expenditure, stands already upheld by the Hon&rsquo;ble High  Court in <em>Godrej &amp;<\/em> <em>Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. <\/em>(supra). Earlier, in <em>Godrej &amp; Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. v. Dy. CIT<\/em> [2017] 394 ITR 449 (SC), with reference to the language of section  14A, the title    of which is itself clarificatory, the Apex Court clarified that  income must not be    includible in the total income, so that once this <em>condition <\/em>is  satisfied, the    expenditure incurred in earning the same cannot be allowed to be  deducted. The    AO in the present case has clearly failed to apply the law in the  matter, which gets    reiterated time and again by the Hon&#8217;ble Apex Court.<\/p>\n<p><em>Decision<\/em><\/p>\n<p>6. In view of the foregoing, we find no merit in the assessee&rsquo;s  case. We,    accordingly, uphold the impugned order, both on the aspect of lack  of inquiry by    the assessing authority, as well as his non-observance of the  Board Circular    5\/2014, which we have found to be in consonance with the law as  explained by the    Apex Court. The impugned order being after the date of amendment  (by way of <em>Explanation 2<\/em>)  to section 263, i.e., 01.06.2015, the same is an equally valid ground    for the exercise of revisionary power u\/s. 263. It is this power,  i.e., to deem an    order as erroneous in-so-for as it is prejudicial to the interests  of the Revenue, that    stands conferred w.e.f. 01.06.2015. That is, the law, w.e.f.  01.06.2015, deems an    order as so, where any of the circumstances specified is, in the  opinion of the    competent authority, satisfied. It has nothing to do with the date  of the passing of    the order deemed erroneous, or the year to which it pertains.  Being a part of the    procedural law, the provision shall have effect from 01\/06\/2015  (also refer <em>CWT v.<\/em> <em>Sharvan Kumar Swarup &amp; Sons <\/em>[1994] 210 ITR 886 (SC)). Rather, as we find on a    perusal of the cited decisions by the Apex Court settling the law  in the matter, the    assessment does not represent a correct application of the law,  furnishing one more    ground, albeit <em>pari  materia<\/em>, for the assessment being liable  for revision u\/s. 263.    We decide  accordingly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The principle that it is the net income, i.e., net of expenditure relatable thereto, which is subject to tax and, correspondingly, not liable to tax, i.e., where it does not form part of the total income, is well established. Equally well settled is the principle that once an income is liable (or not liable) to tax, all expenditure relatable thereto is to be reckoned, and it matters little that the said expenditure has indeed resulted in a positive income, or in whatever sum. It is in fact this, i.e., the expenditure being higher than the gross income, which could be nil, that leads to the phenomenon of loss, which could therefore be across both the categories income, i.e., taxable or non-taxable, being essentially a matter of fact<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/lally-motors-india-p-ltd-vs-pcit-itat-amritsar-disallowance-u-s-14a-rule-8d-has-to-be-made-even-if-the-assessee-has-not-earned-any-tax-free-income-on-the-investment-cheminvest-378-itr-33-del-is-n\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-judgements","category-tribunal","judges-n-k-choudhry-jm","judges-sanjay-arora-am","section-14a","section-rule-8d","counsel-sameer-bhatia","court-itat-amritsar","catchwords-disallowance-us-14a-rule-8d","genre-domestic-tax"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18457\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}