Employer was not at fault for not deducting tax at source from
medical allowances paid to its employees before incurring of actual
medical expenditure. It couldn’t be deemed to be in default for
non-deduction of tax on medical reimbursements if it has made bona fide
estimate of taxable salary of its employees
In the instant case the payments made by assessee to its employees every month included a component towards medical expenditure. The AO treated assessee as an ‘assessee-in-default’ for not deducting tax at source from medical reimbursements upto Rs. 15,000 paid to the employees. In this regard, AO held that the payment of medical expenditure had not to precede the actual incurring of the expenses and it should be only by way of reimbursement. On assessee’s appeal, the CIT(A) quashed the order of the AO Aggrieved revenue filed the instant appeal.
The Tribunal held in favour of assessee as under:
1) The exemption in respect of medical expenditure was to be restricted to expenditure actually incurred by the employees, or Rs. 15,000 whichever was lower. The exemption was to be granted even if the payment preceded the incurrence of expenditure;
2) Though the allowance paid by the assessee to the employees would not form part of taxable salary of an employee, yet if the employer was required to deduct tax at source treating it as part of salary, then that would be contrary to the provisions of Sec.192(3) of the Act;
3) The liability of the person deducting tax at source couldn’t be greater than the liability of the person on whose behalf tax at source was deducted. No tax could be recovered from the employer on account of short deduction of tax at source under section 192 if a bona fide estimate of salary taxable in the hands of the employee was made by the employer. Thus, the order passed by the AO was rightly quashed by the CIT(A) – ACIT v. SAP Labs India (P.) Ltd. [2013] 36 taxmann.com 200 (Bangalore - Trib.)
In the instant case the payments made by assessee to its employees every month included a component towards medical expenditure. The AO treated assessee as an ‘assessee-in-default’ for not deducting tax at source from medical reimbursements upto Rs. 15,000 paid to the employees. In this regard, AO held that the payment of medical expenditure had not to precede the actual incurring of the expenses and it should be only by way of reimbursement. On assessee’s appeal, the CIT(A) quashed the order of the AO Aggrieved revenue filed the instant appeal.
The Tribunal held in favour of assessee as under:
1) The exemption in respect of medical expenditure was to be restricted to expenditure actually incurred by the employees, or Rs. 15,000 whichever was lower. The exemption was to be granted even if the payment preceded the incurrence of expenditure;
2) Though the allowance paid by the assessee to the employees would not form part of taxable salary of an employee, yet if the employer was required to deduct tax at source treating it as part of salary, then that would be contrary to the provisions of Sec.192(3) of the Act;
3) The liability of the person deducting tax at source couldn’t be greater than the liability of the person on whose behalf tax at source was deducted. No tax could be recovered from the employer on account of short deduction of tax at source under section 192 if a bona fide estimate of salary taxable in the hands of the employee was made by the employer. Thus, the order passed by the AO was rightly quashed by the CIT(A) – ACIT v. SAP Labs India (P.) Ltd. [2013] 36 taxmann.com 200 (Bangalore - Trib.)
Source:- taxmannpublication
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