JUDGMENT

KAPADIA, J.

1. A short question which arises for determination in these civil appeals is : whether Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that there was no obligation on the part of the assessee-company to comply with the statutory requirements of Section 194A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short, the Act ) by deducting tax deductible at source (TDS) on interest paid by it for loans availed of by the assessee and repaid by it with interest on the ground that the loans were meant for the directors of the assessee-company and not for the assessee- company and after recording a finding that the directors had misused the name of the company to avail of the loan.

2. The facts giving rise to these civil appeals are as follows: Assessee (sole respondent in all the civil appeals) is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of real estate and construction. A survey was conducted under Section 133A of the Act when cheque receipt registers and cheque payment registers were found in the business premises of the company. On examination of the said books, the Department detected taking of loans by the directors of the co