Tribunal dismisses Revenue's appeal, upholds relief for Assessee in ITA case

The Hon'ble Tribunal granted the Assessee's Miscellaneous Application, dismissing the Revenue's appeal in ITA No. 3020/AHD/2009 for A.Y. 06-07. The Tribunal found that remitting the appeal to the Assessing Officer based on a witness statement was an error, as the witness's examination had no relevance to the Department's independent appeal. Consequently, the Tribunal amended the order, setting aside the addition made by the A.O and affirming the CIT(A)'s relief for plots purchased from parties other than the specific individual. The Revenue's appeal was dismissed, resolving the issues raised by the Assessee.

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Issues involved: Request for recalling the Tribunal's order in ITA No. 3020/AHD/2009 for A.Y. 06-07 due to addition made by the A.O on unaccounted investment in land, CIT(A) granting partial relief, Assessee appealing before Hon'ble Tribunal, setting aside of the addition made by A.O based on a statement, Department filing an independent appeal, examination of a witness, and the remittance of the Revenue's appeal.

Analysis:

1. The Assessee filed a Miscellaneous Application (MA) seeking the recall of the Tribunal's order in ITA No. 3020/AHD/2009 for A.Y. 06-07. The addition was made by the Assessing Officer (A.O) regarding unaccounted investment in land, leading to an appeal by the Assessee before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], who granted partial relief. Subsequently, the Assessee appealed before the Hon'ble Tribunal. The Tribunal set aside the addition made by the A.O, directing the A.O to provide a copy of a statement and an opportunity for cross-examination. The Department also filed an independent appeal related to the addition deleted by CIT(A) concerning plots purchased from others based on a witness statement. The Assessee argued that the examination of the witness had no relevance to the Department's appeal, indicating an error in remitting the Revenue's appeal to the A.O.

2. The Departmental Representative (D.R.) contended that there was no apparent error on record and opposed the Assessee's prayer for recalling the order. Upon reviewing the A.O's and CIT(A)'s orders, it was observed that the Assessee had acquired 6 plots, 2 from a specific individual and 4 from other parties. The A.O's addition was based on the statement of the individual, while CIT(A) provided relief for plots purchased from other parties due to lack of evidence of on-money payment. The Tribunal agreed with the Assessee's argument that the examination of the individual had no relevance to the Department's independent appeal. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that remitting the Revenue's appeal to the A.O was a mistake apparent from the record and amended the order in ITA No. 3020/AHD/2009, dismissing the appeal of the Revenue.

3. The Tribunal allowed the MA, directing the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal in accordance with the findings. The order was pronounced in an Open Court on 27 - 06 - 2014, resolving the issues raised by the Assessee regarding the addition made by the A.O and the subsequent appeals and remittance decisions.

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