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2017 (2) TMI 647 - HC - Income TaxDisallowance u/s 14A - application of Rule 8-D - Held that:- There would be several instances where an Assessing Officer can come to the conclusion that the claim is incorrect but would be unable to assess the extent of the inaccuracy. That is precisely the purpose of Rule 8D. For instance in the present case, the Assessing Officer was entitled to presume that a part of the expenses from the common fund are attributable to the expenditure incurred for earning the exempt income. He was entitled to resort to Rule 8D without determining the amount expended by the assessee towards earning the exempt income. Indeed if he could have done so, it would not have been necessary for him to resort to Rule 8D at all. In the case before us, the Assessing Officer cannot be faulted for not being satisfied with the claim of the assessee. As we noted earlier the Assessing Officer was entirely justified in presuming that the assessee had incurred expenditure towards administrative activities necessary to earn the exempt income. If the presumption or inference is correct, as we have held it is, the Assessing Officer is entitled to resort to Rule 8D. AO on not being satisfied with the correctness of the claim by the assessee in respect of the expenditure incurred to earn exempt income ought to have applied Rule 8D which he did not. Instead he made an estimate on the basis that he considered to be reasonable. This he was not entitled to do. Where an Assessing Officer is not satisfied with the correctness of the claim of the assessee, in this regard, he is bound by the provisions of sub section (2) of Section 14A to follow the prescribed method which at the relevant time was Rule 8D. - Decided in favour of the Revenue. Whether assessee earned exempt income by investing its own funds and not from the interest bearing funds? - Held that:- We leave the question as to whether such a presumption is valid and if valid whether it arises in this case open. The Assessing Officer must determine the same after taking all the provisions of law and the precedents into consideration. If the Assessing Officer justifiably is not satisfied with the correctness of the assessee’s claim regarding the expenditure, he must resort to Rule 8D entirely for the determination of the expenditure incurred with respect to the exempt income for the purpose of section 14A. For instance, if the assessee claims that he has not incurred any interest expenditure but has incurred administrative expenses or vice-versa and the Assessing Officer disagrees with either claim, Rule 8D cannot be applied only in respect of any particular clause of sub-rule (2) of Rule 8D. He must then determine the amount of expenditure incurred in relation to exempt income entirely in accordance with Rule 8D. Mr. Klar’s submission that Rule 8D(ii) includes amounts other than interest such as bank charges for courier handling etc. is not well founded. Rule 8D(ii) refers only to interest. We cannot read into it words that are clearly not there.
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