SC refers issue of interest tax on investments to tribunal

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has referred a bunch of petitions, raising a similar question whether interest earned by banking companies on investments, which are in the form of securities, bonds and debentures, is liable to be assessed for tax, to a sectoral tribunal.

Both the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and the Bombay High Court had held that such banking institutions are not liable to pay interest tax under the Interest Tax Act, 1974.

They had held that loans and advances do not include interest on securities, bonds, debentures and, therefore, not liable to pay interest tax under the Act.

While disposing of appeals filed by the Income Tax department recently, a bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat asked the sectoral tribunal to re-look into the matter.

"Let the Tribunal examine the factual position as to whether the interest involved in the present case is on government securities. If that be so, the ratio of the decision in Corporation Bank's case will apply to the facts of the present case and if the interest earned is not solely on government securities, the ratio of the decision will not apply," the court said.

A similar question had come up for consideration before the apex court in the case of the Commissioner of Income Tax vs Corporation Bank where it held that tax was not chargeable on interest received on investments, as there was a basic difference between loans and advances, on one hand, and investments/securities, on the other.

While submitting that interest on securities falls within the meaning of "interest chargeable to tax", as defined under Section 2(7) of the Act, the department said that an interest tax is leviable on every scheduled bank in respect of the chargeable interest of the previous year under Section 4. Barring discount on pressure bills, the interest was also payable on loans and advances, inclusive of commitment charges on unutilised portion of any credit sanctioned or discount on promissory notes and bills of exchange, it stated.

According to the petitioner, the computation provision in the Act made it clear that while computing chargeable interest on debts, which have been written off as irrecoverable in the previous year and established as bad debt, form part of the chargeable interest.