COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX VS KISAN SEHKARI CHINI MILL LTD.
2004 P T D 2150
[253 I T R 782]
[Supreme Court of India]
Present: Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri and S. N. Variava, JJ
COMMISSIONER OF INCOME‑TAX
Versus
KISAN SEHKARI CHINI MILL LTD.
Civil Appeal No.545 of 2002, decided on /01/.
th
January, 2002. (Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order, dated October 15, 1999 of the Allahabad High Court in I.T. Application No. 155 of 1997).
Income‑tax‑‑‑‑
‑‑‑‑Reference‑‑‑Business expenditure‑‑‑Incentive bonus‑‑‑Not admissible under specific provision in S.36(1)(ii)‑‑‑Whether allowable under General Provision in S.37‑‑‑Question of law‑‑‑Indian Income Tax Act. 1961, Ss.36(1)(ii), 37 & 256.
The question whether incentive bonus paid by the assessee is allowable under section 37 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, if it is not admissible under specific section 36(1)(ii) is a question of law.
[The Supreme Court, accordingly, directed the Appellate Tribunal to State a case to the High Court on this question].
Altaf Ahmad, Additional Solicitor General of India (Rajiv Tyagi and B.V. Balaram Das, Advocates with him) for Appellant.
Rakesh Dwivedi, Senior Advocate (Vishwajit Singh and Ravi Kumar Verma, Advocates with him) for Respondent.
JUDGMENT
SYED SHAH MOHAMMED QUADRI, J.‑‑‑Heard Mr. Altaf Ahmad, the learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the appellants, and Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi, learned senior counsel appearing for the respondent.
Leave is granted.
This appeal is directed against the judgment and order of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in I.T.A. No.155 of 1997, dated October 15, 1999, taking the view that the following question is not a statable question of law. The question reads as follows:
"Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was legally justified in holding that the incentive bonus paid by the assessee is allowable under section 37 if it is not admissible under specific section 36(1)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961?"
We have perused the order of this Court in Civil Appeal No.3507 of 1998, dated July 25, 1998, as also the order of this Court in Special Leave Petition (C) Nos.15305 to 15307 of 1987, dated May 11, 1988. We are of the view fat the question for consideration by this Court in Special Leave Petition (C) Nos. 15305 to 15307 of 1987, dated May 11, 1988, was a different question. The aforementioned question is directly covered by the order of this Court in Civil Appeal No.3507 of 1998, dated July 24, 1998.
In our view the said question is a referable question of law and it arises from the order of the Tribunal so it needs to be referred to the High Court. We, therefore, direct the Tribunal to state the case and refer the abovementioned question of law to the High Court. The appeal is accordingly allowed. No costs.
M.B.A./1105/FCAppeal allowed