BISHNUPUR ROWTARA PRIMARY AGRICULTURE CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT SOCIETY LIMITED. ,KOTWALI vs. ITO,WARD- 41(1), NADIA, NADIA

Facts in brief are that the assessee is a Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Society duly registered under the W.B. Co- Operative Societies Act and is fully engaged in the business of banking and deals with the retail trading of Agricultural products of the farmers who are its members to whom the assessee granted loan & helped with agricultural implements for producing crops. The assessee earned income from interest on investment in term deposits and on savings bank accounts maintained with Union (A.Y. 2016-2017) Bishnupur Rowtara Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Society Limited Bank of India and Bandhan Bank during the F.Y. 2015-16 to the tune of Rs.61,03,545.00 and out of this earned profit of Rs.31,83,400.00 wherefrom the statutory qualifying amount of Rs.50,000.00 was deducted by the ld. Assessing Officer and the balance sum of Rs.31,33,406/- was added back to the total income of the assessee Co-operative society for the purpose of taxation by virtue of disallowing the claim of deduction of the whole amount of income from interest derived from all banks including the sum of Rs. 61,03,545.00 in terms of Section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the I.T. Act, 1961. Against the order of Assessing Officer, the assessee preferred appeal before the Id. CIT(Appeals) and the Id. CIT(Appeals) dismissed the appeal of the assessee affirming the assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer holding that the interest earned by the assessee on investment is not a business activity and accordingly the deduction claimed by the assessee u/s.80P of the Act was denied.

Now, against the order passed by the Id. CIT(Appeals), the assessee is in further appeal before the Tribunal with the grounds as stated above.

The only issue involved in this appeal relates to disallowance of deduction claimed under section 80P of the Act. At the outset, ld. Authorized Representative of the assessee argued that the assessee is a Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society Limited and claimed deduction under section 80P of the Act for the assessment year 2016-17. He further submitted that the assessee- Society is not involved in the business of Banking and it is only a (A.Y. 2016-2017) Bishnupur Rowtara Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Society Limited Cooperative Society registered under the Cooperative Societies Act and involved in providing credit facilities only to its members as provided in the Act. The assessee is not having any intention to gain any benefit from other sources.

The ld. A.R. further submitted that the facts on the ratio laid down in the case of M/s. Totgars Cooperative Sale Society Limited reported in 322 ITR 283 relied on by the Revenue Authorities are entirely different from that of the facts of the instant case in hand. He further submitted that as per Para 11 of the judgment, it is clearly mentioned that “this judgment is confined to the facts of the present case” and, therefore, it cannot be applied in the assessee’s case. Therefore, the assessee is eligible for deduction under section 80P of the Act. He also relied on the decision of Kakateeya Mutually Aided Thrift and Credit Cooperative Society Limited. The ld. A.R. also relied on the decision of the Hon’ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh in the case of Vavveru Cooperative Rural Bank Limited - vs.-CCIT & Another reported in 396 ITR 371 and pleaded to set aside the orders passed by the Revenue Authorities and allow the deduction under section 80P of the Act.

Per contra, the ld. Departmental Representative argued that the ld. CIT(Appeals), NFAC has rightly upheld the addition made by the ld. Assessing Officer as the assessee is not eligible to claim deduction under section 80P of the Act. The ld. D.R., therefore, pleaded to uphold the order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) and dismiss the appeal of the assessee.

From the plain reading of section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act, the whole of amount of profits and gains of the business attributable to one or more of such activities shall be allowed as a deduction. Further, section 80P(2)(d) and 80P(2)(e) of the Act also allows similar deductions. It is clear that the deductions available under clauses (a) to (e) of section 80P(2) are activity based whereas clauses (d) and (e) are investment based. The distinction between clauses (a) and clauses (d) & (e) on the other hand is that the benefit under clause (a) is restricted to only into those activities of a cooperative society enlisted in sub-clause (a) whereas the benefit of clauses (d) & (e) are available to all cooperative societies without any restriction on the activities carried on by them. In simple terms, the benefit under clause (a) will be limited only to the profits & gains of the business attributable to any one or more of such activities. But in case, if the cooperative society has an income not attributable to any one or more of such activities listed in sub-clauses (i) to (vii) of clause-(a), the same may go out of the purview of clause (a) but still the cooperative society may claim the benefit of clause (d) or (e) as per the conditions laid down therein. In the instant case, the original source of investments made by the assessee in Nationalized Banks is admittedly the income of the assessee derived from the activities listed in sub-clauses (i) to (vii) of clause (a). The character of such income must be last, especially when the statute uses the expression “attributable to” and not any one of the expressions viz., “derived from” or “directly attributable to”. The Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the case of Vavveru Cooperative Rural Bank Ltd vs. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and Another [2017] 396 ITR 0371 (AP) in para 34 has discussed about the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Totgar’s Cooperative Sale Society Ltd (supra) and distinguished the facts while deciding the case. For the sake of brevity, we extract the relevant para 34 of the judgment of the Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Court herein below: “34. The case before the Supreme Court in Totgar's Co- operative Sale Society Ltd. 's case (supra) was in respect of a co operative credit society, which was also marketing the agricultural produce of its members. As seen from the facts disclosed in the decision of the Karnataka High Court in Totgars, from out of which the decision of the Supreme Court arose, the assessee was carrying on the business of 7 (A.Y. 2016-2017) Bishnupur Rowtara Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Society Limited marketing agricultural produce of the members of the society. It is also found from paragraph-3 of the decision of the Karnataka High Court in Totgar's Co-operative Sale Society Ltd. 's case (supra) that the business activity other than marketing of the agricultural produce actually resulted in net loss to the society. Therefore, it appears that the assessee in Totgars was carrying on some of the activities listed in clause (a) along with other activities. This is perhaps the reason that the assessee did not pay to its members the proceeds of the sale of their produce, but invested the same in banks. As a consequence, the investments were shown as liabilities, as they represented the money belonging to the members. The income derived from the investments made by retaining the monies belonging to the members cannot certainly be termed as pro fits and gains of business. This is why Totgar's struck a different note. ”

Further, the Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the case of Vavveru Cooperative Rural Bank Ltd vs. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and Another (supra) held that the cooperative society is eligible for deduction U/s. 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act on the interest income received from investment in banks. The Hon’ble High Court in paras 35 to 37 of its judgment held as under: 35. But, as rightly contended by the learned senior counsel for the petitioners, the investment made by the petitioners in fixed deposits in nationalized banks, were of their own monies. If the petitioners had invested those amounts in fixed deposits in other co-operative societies or in the construction of godowns and warehouses, the respondents would have granted the benefit of deduction under clause (d) or (e), as the case may be.

The original source of the investments made by the petitioners in nationalized banks is admittedly the income that the petitioners derived from the activities listed in sub- clauses (i) to (vii) of clause (a). The character of such income may not be lost, especially when the statute uses the expression "attributable to" and not any one of the two expressions, namely, "derived from" or "directly attributable to".

Therefore, we are of the considered view that the petitioners are entitled to succeed. Hence, the writ petitions are allowed, and the order of the Assessing Officer, in so far as it relates to treating the interest income as something not allowable as a deduction under section 80P(2)(a), is set aside. ” 8

Further, the Coordinate Bench of Hyderabad in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Employees Coop. Credit Society vs. ITO also affirmed the same view by following the decision of the Hon’ble AP High Court in the case of Vavveru Cooperative Rural Bank Ltd (supra). In the instant case also, the assessee has invested surplus funds out of the activities carried out as per the provisions of section 80P(2)(a) of the Act. We therefore by respectfully following the jurisdictional High Court are of the view that interest income should be allowed as deduction U/s. 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act and thereby the Ld. CIT(A)-NFAC has rightly held by deleting the addition made by the Ld. AO and hence we find no infirmity in the order of the Ld. CIT(A)-NFAC.

In the result, appeal of the Revenue is dismissed.”

Respectfully following the decision of the Hon’ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh in the case of Vavveru Cooperative Rural Bank Ltd.(supra) and the ratio laid down by the Coordinate Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Kakateeya Mutually Aided Thrift and Credit Cooperative Society Limited (supra), I am inclined to quash the order passed by the Ld. CIT(Appeals)-NFAC and allow the appeal of the assessee.

In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed. Order pronounced in the open Court on 28/07/2025.