The Ahmedabad Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that the additional claim towards the customs duty not allowable under Section 43B of the Income Tax Act 1961 as the asssessee was not obliged to pay the customs duty.
The assessee, Aroma Enterprises (India) Ltd. vide letter dated 07.12.2018 made a fresh claim of customs duty expenses before the Assessing Officer during the course of assessment proceedings. The contention of the assessee was that the assessee was eligible to claim the aforesaid expenses towards customs duty expenses, which had been paid by the assessee under protest and had not been charged to the Profit & Loss Account.
However, the Assessing Officer did not allow the claim of the assessee on the ground that deduction on account of unclaimed customs duty paid by the assessee cannot be allowed since the Assessing Officer has no power under the Income Tax Act to allow expenses made by the assessee during the year, but not claimed by the assessee in the return of income.
The Assessing Officer held that the Supreme Court in the case of Goetze India Ltd. vs. CIT has held that additional claims could not be made before the Assessing Officer as there was no provision under the Income Tax Act to make an amendment in the return without filing a revised return. Consequently, the Assessing Officer held that deduction on account of customs duty paid under protest could not be allowed.
Ashok Kumar Suthar, appeared on behalf of the revenue.
The two-member Bench of Annapurna Gupta, (Accountant Member) and Siddhartha Nautiyal, (Judicial Member) observed that Commissioner of Income Tax Appeals (CIT(A)) in his order had observed that as per copy of decision by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs dated 28.02.2018 in assessee’s case, the assessee was not required to pay customs duty under reference.
The CIT(A) had observed that in view of the aforesaid order passed by the concerned Customs Authority, since the assessee was not required to pay customs duty amounts in all likelihood, the assessee would have already put up a claim for refund of the aforesaid amount which was paid under protest.
The Bench dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee as the assessee was not legally obliged to pay customs duty, the additional claim towards payment of customs duty could not be allowed under the provision of Section 43B(a) of the Income Tax Act.
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