2004 (7) TMI 49 - HC - Income Tax

Court rules on Assessing Officer's jurisdiction over taxing closing stock values. Assessee must prove no undisclosed income.

The court ruled that the Assessing Officer lacked jurisdiction to tax the differential value in closing stock beyond the value accepted by the commercial ... Undisclosed income – addition u/s 69 - Whether Tribunal was right in deleting the addition of Rs. 2,49,173 made under section 69 of the Income-tax Act being the difference between the value of closing stock as found in the seized document and the value of Rs. 7,51,186 admitted by the assessee? - unless and until the competent authority under the Sales Tax Act differs or varies with the closing stock of the assessee, the return accepted by the commercial tax department under the TNGST (Tami Nadu General Sales Tax ) Act, is, in our opinion, binding on the income-tax authorities and the AO, therefore, has no power to scrutinise the return submitted by the respondent/assessee to the commercial tax department under the provisions of the TNGST Act and as accepted by the said authorities, unless otherwise it is varied or modified by the authorities under the TNGST Act Therefore, the Assessing Officer does not have any jurisdiction to go beyond the value of the closing stock declared by the respondent-assesses and accepted by the commercial tax department. – revenue appeal rejected Issues:1. Addition of Rs. 2,49,173 under section 69 of the Income-tax Act.2. Onus of proving that the difference did not represent undisclosed income.3. Consideration of irrelevant evidence and disregarding relevant evidence by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal.Issue 1: Addition of Rs. 2,49,173 under section 69 of the Income-tax Act:The case involved a search under section 132 of the Income-tax Act, leading to the seizure of documents showing a difference of Rs. 2,49,173 in the value of closing stock. The Assessing Officer brought this amount to tax under section 69 of the Act as there was no satisfactory explanation for the difference. However, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) and the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal accepted Rs. 7,51,186 as the value of closing stock, which was also confirmed by the Tribunal. The appellant/Revenue contended that the closing stock value accepted by the commercial tax department was not binding on the income-tax authorities, and thus, the differential value should be taxable. The court analyzed the legal aspects and concluded that the Assessing Officer does not have jurisdiction to go beyond the value of closing stock declared by the assessee and accepted by the commercial tax department unless varied or modified by the authorities under the relevant Act.Issue 2: Onus of proving that the difference did not represent undisclosed income:One of the substantial questions of law raised was whether the onus of proving that the difference in closing stock value did not represent undisclosed income was on the assessee. The court examined the legal principles and highlighted that the Assessing Officer's power is limited to verifying whether the books of account are certified by the competent authority. The court referred to a Supreme Court case to emphasize that the Assessing Officer's role is to ensure proper maintenance of accounts as per the Companies Act. The judgment underscored that unless the competent authority under the Sales Tax Act varies or modifies the closing stock value, the return accepted by the commercial tax department is binding on the income-tax authorities.Issue 3: Consideration of irrelevant evidence and disregarding relevant evidence by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal:The appellant/Revenue raised concerns about the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal deleting the addition based on irrelevant evidence and disregarding relevant evidence. However, the court clarified that the Assessing Officer's jurisdiction is limited to the value of closing stock declared and accepted by the commercial tax department unless modified by the competent authority under the relevant Act. Therefore, the court found no merit in the legal contentions raised by the appellant/Revenue and dismissed the appeal.In conclusion, the judgment delved into the intricacies of the Income-tax Act, emphasizing the significance of accepted returns by competent authorities and the limitations on the Assessing Officer's powers. It highlighted the binding nature of accepted values unless modified by relevant authorities, ultimately leading to the dismissal of the appeal due to lack of legal merit.