ITAT Permits Deduction for GST Paid Prior to ROI Filing Due Date

Fact and issue of the case

The present appeal is directed at the instance of assessee against the order of ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)- National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi [in short ‘ld. CIT(A)’] dated 27.02.2023 passed for assessment year 20 19-20.

The assessee has taken three grounds of appeal out of which ground no. 1 & 3 are general grounds of appeal which do not call for recording of any specific finding.

In ground no. 2, assessee has pleaded that ld. CIT(A) has erred in confirming the addition of Rs. 8,81,938/- which was added by ld. Assessing Officer (in short ‘ld. AO’) with the aid of Section 43B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short the ‘Act’). AO was of the view that GST was not paid by the assessee within the due date and therefore, it is to be disallowed.

Observation of the court

Ld. Counsel for the assessee while taking us through the record, carefully submitted that ld. AO has disallowed GST payment of Rs. 8,81,938/- on the ground that this amount was not paid by the assessee. The assessee took the matter in appeal and it was contended that the GST was paid before the due date of filing of the return and therefore, it is to be allowed as deduction. He placed on record copies of challan etc. With the assistance of ld. Representative, we have gone through the record carefully. A perusal of the impugned order of ld. CIT(A) would reveal that there is no head & tail in this order. Ld. first Appellate Authority has not considered these submissions of the assessee in an analytical manner. Therefore, we set aside the order of ld. CIT(A) and remit this issue back to the file of ld. first Appellate Authority with the direction that ld. first Appellate Authority would peruse the challans exhibiting the payment of GST before the due date of filing of the return and in case such a factum is found as true, then, deduction is to be allowed to the assessee. With the above observation, appeal of the assessee is partly allowed for statistical purposes.

In the result, the appeal filed by the assessee is partly allowed for statistical purposes.

Kolkata, the 9th June, 2023