TMI Blog2009 (11) TMI 917X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd Disbursing Officers (DDO) under s. 192 of the Act. Each of such officers pay salary to the employees within their areas after deducting income-tax from the salary of the employees in the unit/branch and submit report for TDS with their respective ITO. The head office at Jabalpur disburses salaries to its employees in the Jabalpur Division and head office. The Board, apart from its own generating plant at different places also purchases power from various other sources like NTPC and others. The power generated in the plant as well as power purchased from outside is supplied through a common grid to the general public as well as to its employees. For the financial year 1997-98, the Board had its own generation in money value term ₹ 1231 crores and for 1998-99, it is ₹ 1262 crores. For the financial year 1997-98 its purchase from outside is ₹ 1910 crores and for 1998-99, is ₹ 2328 crores. It had supplied the power to its employees for the financial year ₹ 1.31 crores and for 1998-99 ₹ 1.41 crores. It is averred that the purchase rate from National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC) which is the principal supplier to the Board is ₹ 1.10 p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... chief accounts officer to deduct taxes in respect of both the items for the year 1999- 2000. The said communication has been brought on record as Annex. P-4. The CIT attached the Board's account and recovered an amount of ₹ 1,69,55,120 as per Annex. P-9. When the revision was being heard before the respondent No. 1, the respondent No. 2, ITO (TDS) determined the TDS short deducted at ₹ 1,65,92,870 under s. 201 of the Act, levied interest amounting to ₹ 34,74,502 thereby raising a total demand of ₹ 2,00,67,372 and issued a copy of the order and demand notice. It is contended in the petition that as revision for the year 1997-98 has been rejected, the petitioner has not approached the revisional authority as it would have been a futile endeavour and hence, has invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court. 5. It is the stand of the Board that the orders passed by the respondent and the actions taken are not justified in law in as much as it is an obligation of the employer to deduct on the basis of honest estimate of salary and by making controversial addition to salaries employer cannot be held responsible where assessment of an employee is com ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is supplying the electricity to its employees at concessional rates after purchasing it from NTPC. Hence, the argument that the electricity supplied to its employees is from their own sources and as such no tax is chargeable is not acceptable. Had the electricity been supplied to the employees was from its own generation there was no reason for charging the NTPC charges. It is the stand in the return that the contention that compensatory allowance is paid to the employees as per the circular of the Board is not acceptable as no such position has ever been accepted by the Department. It is contended that the order passed by the respondent No. 2 is appealable under s. 246A(ha) to the CIT(A) and thereafter under s. 253 to the Tribunal and a further appeal lies to the High Court. The petitioner did not prefer any appeal and has directly invoked the jurisdiction of this Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India. It is put-forth that the Act provides a complete and self-contained machinery for obtaining relief against such action and when alternative remedy is available, the writ petition should not be entertained. A further stand in the return is that the petitioner-Board wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alysis made by the CIT. The relevant portion of the order which is in Hindi on being translated into English would read as under : According to the circular of the appellant dt. 4th Jan., 1971 this allowance will be paid to the employees who are appointed wholly for that purpose. The employee can take deduction in the return under s. 16(5). In this circular it has also been stated that they will have to produce the receipts regarding receipt of the allowance before the DDO, the draft of which is enclosed with the circular in which a certificate regarding the expenses being actually incurred regarding orderly has been given. In the order of the appellant dt. 6th June, 1972 it has been stated that the allowance of ₹ 80 is compensatory allowance which is paid to the helper for helping in the official work at home. In the circular dt. 7th Oct., 1974 also the same thing has been stated. 5.3 From the above facts it appears that everywhere the expenses have been actually incurred is stated. The receipt that has been produced is in respect of having received the amount and not that on that basis the employer can pay the allowance without deduction of tax. 6.1 Before ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o was not accepted. As has been seen, in the case of Shri R.R. Khanna, withdrawal of money had been made from the bank account a few days earlier to the investments. In the case of Smt. Kanta Gaur, withdrawal had been made from the bank account in which her salary was also deposited. In the face of the source having been explained, there was no reason for the employer to raise a further suspicion and to reject the rebate claimed by the two employees. The ITO in the course of assessment of the employees, may decline to accept the source as genuine, but that power rests with the ITO. The employer has been required to deduct tax at source from the 'estimated income' of the employee. The petitioner's application seeking interference by the CIT also did not help the petitioner, though not only the investments made had been duly explained, but also the source of money so invested. The CIT also did not feel inclined to accept the petitioner's plea that, as an employer, the obligation cast on the petitioner had been discharged. Even a second attempt made by the petitioner by moving an application under s. 154 of the Act proved futile. These facts make out a case where the e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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