ITAT: Due Date for PF/ESI Deposit to be Verified from Actual Salary Disbursement Date

Brief Facts of the Case

The assessee, Alankit Limited, filed an appeal against the order of the CIT(A) which upheld a disallowance of ₹70,67,205. This disallowance was made under Section 36(1)(va) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, on account of a delay in depositing employees’ contributions to PF and ESI.

The assessee raised two primary arguments:

The disallowance could not have been made in an intimation under Section 143(1) as it is a debatable issue.
As an alternative plea, the due date for depositing the contributions should be calculated with reference to the date of actual disbursement of salary, not the month to which the salary pertains. The assessee contended that the deposits were made within the prescribed time limit when calculated from the disbursement date.

Decision of the Tribunal

The ITAT partly allowed the appeal for statistical purposes and remitted the matter back to the Assessing Officer (AO). The Tribunal delivered the following key findings:

Scope of Section 143(1): The Tribunal rejected the assessee’s first argument that the adjustment was beyond the scope of Section 143(1). It noted that this issue is already settled in favor of the department by coordinate benches.
Verification of Due Date: The Tribunal accepted the assessee’s alternative plea for verification¹⁰. It observed that the question of whether the due date should be calculated from the actual date of salary disbursement had not been examined by the lower authorities.
Reliance on Precedent: Relying on the decisions of its coordinate benches in cases like Bensons Movers Pvt. Ltd. v. ACIT and Kanoi Paper and Industries Ltd. vs. ACIT, the Tribunal found it appropriate to restore the issue to the AO.
Direction to the AO: The AO has been directed to re-examine the issue based on the assessee’s contention that the due date for remittance is linked to the actual date of salary payment¹³¹³¹³¹³¹³. The AO must provide an adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee before passing a fresh order.

Case Citation

Alankit Limited vs. DCIT, Circle 2(2), Delhi.

Appeal Number: ITA No.3207/DEL/2025
Date of Judgment: 13th October 2025
Tribunal: Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench ‘C’

Source :- Judgement