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2024 (2) TMI 466 - HC - Income TaxReopening of assessment - reason to believe - disallowance of expenditure on account of advertisement, sales promotion, product display posters, etc. as it did not pertain to the business of assessee and, therefore, not allowable u/s 37 - HELD THAT:- The only basis to disallow expenditure for the three years on account of advertisement, sales promotion, product display posters, etc. was it was not pertaining to the business of assessee and, therefore, not allowable under Section 37 of the Act. It is evident that there was absolutely no basis to respondent no. 1 to form a belief that any income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment within the meaning of substantive provisions of Section 147 of the Act. As held by this Court in Prashant S. Joshi [2010 (2) TMI 271 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT], Explanation 2 to Section 147 creates a deeming fiction of cases where income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. Clause (b) deals with a situation “where a return of income has been furnished by the assessee but no assessment has been made and it is noticed by the AO that the assessee has understated the income or has claimed excessive loss, deduction, allowance or relief in the return.” For the purpose of Clause (b) to Explanation 2, AO must notice that the assessee has understated his income or has claimed excessive loss, deduction, allowance or relief in the return and taking of such notice must be consistent with the provisions of the applicable law. It cannot be at the arbitrary whim or caprice of the Assessing Officer and must be based on a reasonable foundation. Though the sufficiency of the evidence or material is not open to scrutiny by the court but the existence of the belief is the sine qua non for a valid exercise of power. Apex Court in Sassoon J. David and Co. P. Ltd. [1979 (5) TMI 3 - SUPREME COURT] held that ordinarily it is for the assessee to decide whether any expenditure should be incurred in the course of his or its business. Such expenditure may be incurred voluntarily and without any necessity and if it is incurred for promoting the business and to earn profits, the assessee can claim deduction under the Act even though there was no compelling necessity to incur such expenditure. The fact that somebody other than the assessee is also benefited by the expenditure should not come in the way of an expenditure being allowed by way of deduction under the Act if it satisfies otherwise the tests laid down by law. Therefore, even if petitioner has incurred any expenditure towards advertisement, sales promotion, product display posters, etc. on the direction of the DIPL and these expenditures might have benefited Diageo as well, does not entail right to deny deduction under Section 37(1) of the Act. It is unacceptable to even suggest that the expenses were not incurred for the purpose of business of petitioner. It is common knowledge that advertising and sales promotion will ensure higher sales and higher sales will ensure higher profitability to petitioner. There is no doubt that there is a direct nexus between the expenditure incurred and the business of petitioner. Thus when we apply the touchstone as to whether there was reason to believe that income had escaped assessment, in our view, it was impossible for any prudent person to form a reasonable belief that the income had escaped assessment. The reasons, which have been recorded, could never have led a prudent person to form an opinion that income had escaped assessment within the meaning of Section 147 of the Act. Decided in favour of assessee.
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