2019 (3) TMI 1856
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.... Equity with a rider that assessee shall remain associated with the Organization for a specific period and the lock in period for shares was 10 years. However, subsequently on 26.2.2010, at the instance of the company, the Hon'ble Delhi High Court held that the shares issued by M/s Rockland Hospital were wrongly issued and directed the company to reverse the entry of Sweat Equity shares as a result of which the assessee surrendered all the shares. On 7.2.2011, assessee quit his association with the company much before the lapse of 10 years. 3. Assessee filed the original return of income for the AY 2007-08 on 31.7.2007 declaring professional income of Rs. 3,22,053/- and it was processed u/s 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ("the Act"). Later on 18.8.2006 by recording reasons, the learned AO issued notice dated 1.2.2011 u/s 148 of the Act. Assessee filed his objections on 12.12.2013. Learned AO disposed of such objections in the assessment order dated 4.3.2014 itself through which he made an addition of Rs. 2 crore u/s 28(iv) of the Act. 4. Aggrieved by the said addition, assessee challenging the order filed an appeal before the learned CIT(A) on two additions. Firstly, assessee....
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...., however, pleads that as soon as he was made aware of his tax liability in his hands, he returned that amount in FY 2009-10 to that person, but the subsequent/future event cannot affect the taxability in the year of its accrual. 8. On the contention of the assessee that the disposal of the objections by way of composite order of assessment is bad under law, Ld. DR submitted that no such ground was taken by the assessee. He submits that even otherwise, in view of the decision of the Hon'ble Kerala High Court in the case of Palakkad Distt. Cooperative Bank Ltd. vs ACIT (2017) 392 ITR 539; MohammedallyNoorbhoyBandukwala Trust vs ITO (2017)2017- TIOL-341-HC-Mum-IT; and Home Finders Housing Ltd. vs ITO (2018) 404 ITR 611 (Madras) as confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in 256 Taxman 59 (SC), non compliance of directions of Hon'ble Supreme Court in GKN Driveshafts(India) Ltd. vs ITO (2003) 259 ITR 19, that on receipt of objections given by the assessee to notice u/s 148, ld. AO is bound to dispose of objections by passing a speaking order, would not make re-assessment order void ab initio and also that the assessment cannot be termed as invalid for non consideration of the assessee's....
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....e Constitution lies and because of this composite order, the assessee lost a valuable right and on that premise, the composite order is bad. 11. We have gone through the record in the light of the submissions on either side. Insofar as the merits are concerned, there is no denial of any of the facts pleaded on behalf of the assessee that the sweat equity share agreement was on 26.2.2007 in accordance with which certain number of shares of face value Rs. 10/- each were allotted to the assessee at a premium of Rs. 190/- without any consideration and subsequently, in view of the decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court on 26.2.2011 such shares were returned and the entires were reversed whereas the assessee quit the association of the company on 7.2.2011, which is the essential condition under the 'Sweat Equity Share Agreement' to derive the benefit thereunder. Learned CIT(A) also noted the fact that on 20.5.2011, Board of Directors of M/s Rockland Hospitals ltd. has passed a resolution and accepted the surrender of shares by the assessee. Therefore, at the latest by 18.6.2012, the entire process of reversing the entries and acceptance of the surrender pursuant to the directions of t....
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....erquisite and more so, the very basis of the valuation is not scientific without any financial back up data to justify the valuation. 15. In these circumstances, we are in agreement with the submission on behalf of the assessee that the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of CIT vs Infosys Technology Ltd. (2008) 297 ITR 167 (SC) wherein the issue involved was that whether allotment of Sweat Equity Shares to an employee is a perquisite or not and it was held that where the lock in period was involved, the perquisite would be treated only in the year in which the lock in period ends. Since in this case the agreement came to an end, shares were surrendered and the entries were reversed long prior to the lock in period, no case of taxing the allotment as perquisite in the hands of the assessee in the AY 2007-08. 16. Be that as it may, in this matter, in so far as the legality of the assessment order without disposing of the objections filed by the assessee are concerned, we have two sets of decisions cited on either side. First line of decisions is the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of GKN Driveshafts (India) P. Ltd. (supra) and the decision of the Ho....