ACIT, CIRCLE - 32, KOLKATA, KOLKATA vs. M/S. W.B. STATE CO-OP AGRICULTURAL & RURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK LTD., KOLKATA

As the issues involved are identical in all the assessment years under appeal, all the appeals of the revenue and assessee are taken up together and disposed off by this consolidated order for the sake of convenience.

The assessee has raised various grounds with regard to its eligibility for claim of deduction u/s. 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act.

The brief facts of this issue are that the assessee is a co-operative society engaged in the business of banking and providing credit facilities to its members. The assessee for the first time in assessment year 2007-08 made a fresh claim before the ld.CIT(A) by way of additional ground that the assessee is a co-operative society engaged in the business of banking and accordingly, it is entitled for deduction u/s. 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act. We find that the ld. CIT(A) had not entertained this additional ground of the assessee by placing reliance on the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Goetze (India) Ltd Vs. CIT reported in (2006) 284 ITR 323 (SC). Accordingly, the claim of deduction u/s. 80P(2)(a)(i) was denied for the assessment year 2007-08. For the assessment year 2008-09, the assesee made a similar claim before the ld.AO, who declined to accept the same.

We have heard the rival submissions and perused the material available on record. During the course of hearing before us, the ld.DR argued that the assessee has made a fresh claim for the AY 2007-08 as a co-operative society engaged in the business of banking and providing credit facilities to its members pursuant to the ITA No.1641 & 2 1317/Kol/2010 & M/s. W.B State Co-op Agricultural & Rural Development Bank Ltd amendment brought in Finance Act 2006 w.e.f 1-4-2007 by insertion of sub-section (4) in section 80P of the Act, which reads as under:- “The provisions of this section shall not apply in relation to any co-operative bank other than a primary agricultural credit society or a primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank. “

When it was asked to both the parties by the bench that the fresh claim made by the assessee needs to be adjudicated by the lower authorities, both the parties before us agreed for the same. In view of these facts and circumstances, we deem it fit and appropriate, in the interest of justice and fair play, to set aside the entire assessment to the file of the ld.AO, for denovo adjudication and to decide the same, in the context of the amendment made in section 80P(4) of the Act by the Finance Act 2006 and to verify the claim of the assessee as to whether the assessee is a cooperative society engaged in the business of banking or a co-operative bank. The claim of deduction u/s. 80P will depend upon categorical finding to be given by the ld.AO with regard to status of the assessee as to whether it is a co-operative society or a co- operative bank. Accordingly, the grounds raised