Suhas Chandra Sen, J. - (1.) The Tribunal has referred the following question of law under Section 256(1) of the I.T. Act, 1961, to this court for its opinion: "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that Rs. 9,54,677 being the premium paid luring the accounting year corresponding to assessment year 1975-76 is an allowable expenditure ?"
(2.) The assessee is a company. The assessment year is 1975-76 for which the accounting year ending is on March 31, 1975, The assessee had debited a sum of Rs. 16,15,458 to the account of premium on purchase of import entitlements for the import of raw materials. The assessee itself did not have any import licence but it purchased the same from other exporters who had been allotted such licences. The entire quota was not utilised in the year of account. Note No. 9(a) in the balance-sheet, Schedule 'D', for the instant year in this connection was in the following terms : "Premium on purchases of import entitlements for import of raw materials aggregating to Rs. 16,15,459 written off in the profit and loss account includes Rs. 9,54,677 being the value of unutilised licences in hand as at March 31, 1975. However, entitlements valued at Rs. 6,58,781 against which goods have already been received have been considered for the valuation of raw materials."
(3.) Out of the unutilised quota of Rs. 9,54,677, the utilisation was Rs. 4,73,050 in the year 1975-76, Rs. 2,45,248 in the year 1976-77 and Rs. 2,54,641 in the year 1977-78. The balance of Rs. 1,758 could not be utilised as it got time-barred in the accounting year 1977-78. The ITO held that the import licences concerned were saleable and the assessee could sell its import entitlements. Secondly, he held that the amount of premium could be treated as an addition to the cost of the goods to be imported and should be considered as a credit to the profit and loss account as part of the closing stock of the goods. Thirdly, he held that for the purposes of ascertaining the correct profit of the year, such entitlements which were actually utilised for import of raw materials for the business during the year was allowable. In the result, the ITO held that the expenditure incurred to acquire unutilised import entitlements with licence could not be considered to have been incurred for the purpose of the assessee's business during the year and hence the said amount of Rs. 9,54,677 was disallowed by him.;