COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. SANJEEV MEHROTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this appeal preferred under Section 260-A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for brevity 'the Act') the Revenue has called in question the pregnability of the order dated 10-8-1999 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Jabalpur Bench, Jabalpur (in short 'the Tribunal') in ITA/116/jab/98.

(2.) THE facts which are essential to be adumbrated are that the assessee is a Development Officer in the Life Insurance Corporation of India. He received incentive bonus from his employer and on the said sum he claimed 40 per cent deduction in his return filed for the assessment year 1992-93. The Assessing Officer disallowed the deduction of the amount on the incentive bonus received by the assessee as it formed a part of salary and hence, no such deduction was allowable. Being of this view he made prima facie, adjustment and disallowed the claim while processing the return of the income under Section 143 (1) (a) of the Act.

(3.) BEING aggrieved by the aforesaid order the respondent/assessee preferred an appeal before the Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals), Jabalpur, who allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the Assessing Officer on the ground that the adjustment made could not have been done while passing the order under Section 143 (1) (a) of the Act as the said adjustment by its very nature was debatable. The Revenue did not accept the order passed by the First Appellate Authority and preferred an appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal recorded its findings in Paragraph 5 and rejected the appeal. It reads as under :-