I-T relief for welfare contributions

Granting Income Tax relief to companies for deductions for contributions to provident fund (PF), the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday dismissed over 60 appeals by the commissioner of income tax. The Finance Act 2003, which operated from April 1, 2004, deleted a provision relating to deduction against PF and other welfare funds. According to the deleted provisions, if the contribution stood paid after the date of filing of returns, it stood disallowed. This resulted in hardship as the financial year did not coincide with the accounting year in many cases. After a representation to the government and the Kelkar committee report, the provision was deleted. In the present batch of appeals, the government took the stand the benefit would accrue to the employers from 2004 after the amendment, and not retrospectively from 1988. The court ruled it was not an amendment but a “curative” step