Section 38 of the Income Tax Act
The decision most relied on for Section 38 is Pr. CIT v. M/s Suzlon Energy Ltd. (115 Taxmann.com 340), cited in 46 of the 58 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 38
Employees' contributions to provident fund and ESI must be deposited by the due date prescribed under the respective welfare legislations (e.g., within 15 days of the month-end salary payment) for a deduction under section 36(1)(va) of the Income-tax Act. Failure to do so results in disallowance, even if the deposit is made before the due date for filing the income tax return under section 139(1).
An assessee must discharge the primary onus of providing relevant documents to support a claim of expenditure, and reliance on case law is misplaced if this onus is not met.
A payment made to trustees is not liable for TDS under section 194C when the assessee has no obligation to deduct tax at source. The mere fact that funds pass through the assessee's bank account does not make it the assessee's income or the payment to the trustee the assessee's expenditure.
Interest under section 201(1A) cannot be charged when the payee has already paid more tax than the tax payable and a refund is due, even after considering TDS.
Interest under Section 201(1A) cannot be levied if the tax payable to the revenue has already been paid, even if there was a failure to deduct tax at source, especially when the recipient has paid the full tax liability.
