The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Tapan Kumar Mondal & Anr.

Some High Courts are of view that Motor Vehicles Act is a social welfare legislation and if there is conflict between social welfare legislation and a tax legislation, in that case the social legislation will prevail, since it sub-serves larger public interest. A person who suffers also cannot be asked to part with solatium he receives since it is the only remedy he has been provided with by law. The Motor Vehicles Act is one such legislation which has been passed with a benevolent intention for compensating the accidents victims who have suffered bodily disablement or loss of life and the Income Tax Act which is primarily intended for tax collection by the State cannot put spokes in the effective and efficacious enforcement of the Motor Vehicles Act. The interest awarded on compensation under Motor Vehicles Act does not fall within the definition of Income. The Insurance Company cannot deduct tax at source on interest payable on compensation. 4 However, in Gouri Deepak Patel & Ors vs New India Assurance Co. Ltd., the Division Bench Of Bombay High Court has accepted the interpretation of Section 194A of Income Tax as made in Smt. Hansagauri Prafulcandra Ladhani vs. Oriential Insurance Co. Ltd. Reported in 2007 ACJ 1897 (Gujarat) and where it was held:-” the interest on the compensation awarded by the Tribunal or enhanced compensation awarded by the appellate court cannot be taken to have accrued on the date of award of Tribunal granting compensation or from the date of the award of the appellate court granting enhanced compensation, but has to be taken as having accrued year after year from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of deposit by the insurance company.” Therefore, this court is of view that procedure laid down in Hansaguri (supra) and followed in Gouri Deepak Patel (supra) is required to follow by the Insurance Company while depositing the amount of compensation Awarded by a Tribunal and which include interest amount in following manner:- (a) first spread the interest amount over to the relevant financial years for the period from the date of filing the claim petition till the date of deposit, (b) thereafter, if the interest for any particular financial year exceeds Rs.50,000/-, separately deposit before the Tribunal the amount liable to be deducted at source 5 under the provisions of section 193-A (3) to (ix) of the Income Tax Act,1961. Such amount shall not, however, straightway be paid over to IncomeTax Department, (c) produce before the Claims Tribunal a statement of computation of interest by spreading the amount over the relevant years from the date of cliam application till the date of deposit if the interest for any particular financial year exceeds Rs.50,000/- and also request the Tribunal to treat the amount as a separate deposit. The Tribunal who passed the award is required to follow the following Procedure:- (I) The Tribunal shall ensure that the amount of interest accrued each year is apportioned amongst claims on year to year basis. (II) if the interest payable to any claimant during any particular financial year exceeds Rs.50,000/-, Claims Tribunals permit insurance companies/owners to pay over the amount liable to be deducted at source u/s 194-A(3) (ix) to the Income Tax Department in respect of that particular year, without prejudice to the claimant’s case that he is not liable to pay any income tax for that year. (III) For the financial year(s) for which the interest payable to the concerned claimant does not exceed Rs.50,000/-, that Tribunal may permit such claimant to withdraw the amount deposited as per direction (i) (b) without producing certificate from the concerned 6 income tax authority that there is no income tax liability on the interest which has accrued on the compensation awarded by the Tribunal. (IV) it is clarified that the amount other than the amount liable to be deducted at source u/s 194-A(3)(ix) shall be invested/disbursed by the Tribunal. (V) When the claimants make the application before the authority under the Income Tax Act,1961 for the refund of the amount deducted under the provisions of section 194-A(3)(ix) of the Act, the concerned authority shall decide such application with utmost expedition. In view of the above findings, the order impugned is set aside with a direction to the Learned Tribunal to see the Insurance Company make deposit of the awarded compensation along with interest thereon by following the above mentioned procedure and thereafter comply the procedure it need to follow. Accordingly, C.O 105 of 2022 is allowed. Interim order, if any, stands discharged. All parties are directed to act on a server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court. Urgent Photostat certified copies of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all requisite formalities. ( Kesang Doma Bhutia, J.) 7