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Showing contexts for: software audit in Metropolitan Stock Exchange Of India ... vs Principal Commissioner Of Income Tax - ... on 22 October, 2018Matching Fragments
Expense Head Pg. No of Special
Audit Report
Software support charges Page 23
Shared service cost Page 26
Legal and professional Page 59 to 64
charges
Software license fees Page 25 to 26
SAP license fees Page 24 to 25
6. Thereafter, the assessee further submitted that in the reasons for reopening, the support software services, share support service and SAP license fees were not included in the reasons for reopening of assessment of A.Y. 2010-11. That the A.O. has disallowed Rs.1,40,000/- out of legal expenses and for software license fees 25% of expenses were disallowed. The assessee objected to the validity of notice u/s. 263 by submitting that it was not valid for software support charge and share support services inasmuch as it was passed after the expiry of two years from the end of the financial year in which the order sought to be revised was passed.
Reverting to the facts of the case on hand, it is seen that the original return filed on 30/09/2010 and assessed by an order u/s 143(3) dated 17/01/2010, contained a claim for five items of expenses viz., [a] Software support charges, [b)] Shared service cost, [c] Legal & Professional charges, [d] Software license fees, and [e] SAP license fees, The subsequent Special Audit took into its sweep all the above items of expenditure. The reasons recorded for initiating the reassessment proceedings after the Special Audit, however, did not discuss [a] Software support charges, [b] Shared service cost, and [e] SAP license fees. Only the other two issues viz., [c] Legal and professional charges, and [d] Software license fees were referred to in the reasons recorded, and the reassessment was concluded on 31/03/2016 with a disallowance of Rs I,40,000/- in the claim for Legal & Professional charges for want of/documentation, and a disallowance of 25% in the claim for Software Licence Fees. It is urged by the Ld. A R, on the authority of the precedents cited, that since matters not incorporated in the reasons recorded could not form part of the reassessment, the assessee could not be put on notice on these issues, on a date later than 31/03/2015.
Expense Head Pg. No of Special
Audit Report
Software support charges Page 23
Shared service cost Page 26
Legal and professional Page 59 to 64
charges
Software license fees Page 25 to 26
SAP license fees Page 24 to 25
18. From the above, it is evident that these items were duly mentioned in the special audit report and were made part of the reasons recorded as all items dealt in the special audit report were mentioned to be part of reasons recorded. Hence, the assessee's plea that these items were not subject matter of reassessment is not at all sustainable and is totally against the facts arising out of the appeal. This aspect has also escaped the attention of the ld. CIT who has justified the power to invoke section 263 otherwise on the plank that Explanation 3 of section 147 which in his opinion empowers him to do, despite the issue not being subject matter of reassessment. However, this Explanation 3 alone cannot empower the ld. CIT to exercise the jurisdiction over items which are not subject matter of the reassessment as held by the exposition of the Hon'ble jurisdictional High Court in the case of ICICI Bank Ltd. (supra). However, as evident from the above details, the entire premise that these items were not made subject matter of reassessment fails inasmuch as these items were duly mentioned in the special audit report and all the items dealt in the special audit report were made part of the reasons recorded and the assessee is very much aware about the page numbers of the special audit report where these items are dealt with. Hence, the entire plea of the assessee that the order passed u/s. 263 of the Act on the above items is time barred fails as these were subject matter of reassessment order passed on 30.03.2016. The notice for revision was issued on 28.06.2016 and, hence, the same is well within the period of limitation, qua these issues.