Commissioner of Income Tax vs T. Stanes and Co. Ltd., Staff Pension Fund

Thanikkachalam, J.—At the instance of the Department, the Tribunal referred the following question for our opinion u/s 256(1) of the

Income Tax Act, 1961 :

Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that while computing the tax payable by the assessee

as a trustee to the beneficiary, viz., T. Stanes and Co. Ltd., deduction u/s 80M should be allowed in respect of the dividend income received by

the assessee from T. Stanes and Co. Ltd. itself for the assessment years 1978-79 and 1979-80 ?

The assessment years involved in these cases are 1978-79 and 1979-80. The assessee-trust is assessed as an association of persons, the only

beneficiary of the trust for these assessment years being T. Stanes and Co. Ltd. In making the assessment on the trust, the Income Tax Officer

assessed the dividend income received by the trust, viz., Rs. 1,01,816 and Rs. 96,066, respectively, for the aforesaid two years without giving the

benefit of deduction u/s 80M in computing the total income as also in calculating the tax payable by the beneficiary.

On appeal, the first appellate authority accepted the contention put forward by the assessee that the assessee is entitled to deduction on

dividends u/s 80M of the Act. Accordingly, the first appellate authority directed the Income Tax Officer to modify the assessment. On further

appeal, the Tribunal accepted the order passed by the first appellate authority.

A similar question in the assessment years 1973-74 to 1975-76 came up for consideration before this court in the case of the same assessee

reported in Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Trustees, T. Stanes and Co. Ltd., Staff Pension Fund, , wherein it was held as follows (headnote) :

Held, (i) that u/s 161, the trustee has to be treated in the same manner and to the same extent as the beneficiary both for the computation of

income and determination of tax on the computed income. The assessment of the trustee would have to be made in the same status as that of the

beneficiary;

(ii) Though the declaration of dividend and receipt of the said dividend were by the same company, while declaration was by the company, the

receipt was in the capacity as beneficiary of the trust and there is no bar under the Companies Act for a company receiving its own dividend

income. Therefore, the benefit u/s 80M would be available in respect of dividends received by the assessee.

In view of the abovesaid decision of this court, we consider that there is no infirmity in the order passed by the Tribunal in allowing the deduction

u/s 80M of the Act in favour of the assessee. Accordingly, we answer the question referred to us in the affirmative and against the Department.

There will be no order as to costs.