2016 (2) TMI 944 - AT - Income Tax

Tax Appeal Dismissed: Upheld Deletion of Additions for Unexplained Expenditure

Asstt. Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle-17, New Delhi Versus M/s. Jaguar Leasing Pvt. Ltd., B- 10, Shivalik, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi

The ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), upholding the deletion of additions for unexplained expenditure ... Addition u/s 69C - Held that:- Since the appellant company along with the other companies are all ‘in-house’ to the Thapar- Dhingra group and there is a widespread web of inter se transactions amongst them, keeping their separate juridical identity in mind, the ends of justice will be met if in each case, addition of the peak of financial transaction, as worked out from the relevant cash book of each entity, is made. Therefore, the addition made by the Assessing Officer needs to be revisited. It may be mentioned that while the rejection of the books and the book results by the Assessing Officer is confirmed, reliance is being placed on the transactions traversing the cash book, irrespective of their notations, since amongst the inflow and outflow of cash, tax payments made by the appellant are independent and verifiable. Consequently, no separate addition is required to be made on account of purchases or expenditure. The Assessing Officer is directed to work out the peak from the entries in the cash book, including bank transactions, of the appellant for the relevant year and make a singular addition of the said amount, as unexplained investment/expenditure - Decided against revenue Issues:1. Deletion of addition on account of unexplained expenditure under Section 69C of the I.T. Act.2. Deletion of addition on account of 50% disallowance of expenditure claimed by the assessee.Analysis:Issue 1: The Revenue appealed against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) deleting an addition of Rs. 35,84,684 on account of unexplained expenditure under Section 69C of the I.T. Act. The Assessing Officer observed that the assessee company belonged to a group with allegations of floating companies with dummy directors and shareholders. The company showed purchases of textile goods without providing sales tax records or bills, leading the Assessing Officer to treat the entire purchase amount as bogus and unexplained expenditure. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) directed the Assessing Officer to determine the peak from cash book entries and make a singular addition of the said amount as unexplained investment/expenditure. The ITAT upheld the Commissioner's decision, stating that the findings were well-reasoned and no interference was necessary, as the Commissioner did not accept the genuineness of the purchases but allowed the benefit of funds availability on sale of goods corresponding to unexplained purchases.Issue 2: The Revenue also contested the deletion of an addition of Rs. 2,11,786 on account of 50% disallowance of expenditure claimed by the assessee. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) upheld the action of the Assessing Officer regarding purchases, sales, and expenses but directed to consider only the peak of entries as unexplained investment in expenditure. The ITAT found the Commissioner's decision to be judicious, providing the benefit of funds availability on sale of goods corresponding to unexplained purchases. Therefore, the ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeal, upholding the Commissioner's order on both issues.In conclusion, the ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), upholding the deletion of additions on account of unexplained expenditure and 50% disallowance of claimed expenditure by the assessee for the assessment year 2005-06.