Court rules statements under Section 133-A lack evidentiary value for undisclosed income. Denial before Tribunal holds weight.

The court upheld the orders of the Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals) and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ruling that statements recorded under Section 133-A have no evidentiary value for adding undisclosed income to taxable income. The appellant's argument that the Supreme Court judgment did not apply as the assessee did not retract the statement was rejected. The court found the appellant's denial of the statement before the Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals) as sufficient. The appeal was dismissed as it did not raise any substantial question of law.

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Issues:
Validity and correctness of the judgment passed by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals) regarding undisclosed income based on a statement made during a survey under Section 133-A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:
The case involved a situation where incriminating documents were discovered during a survey under Section 133-A of the Income Tax Act, leading to the assessee surrendering a certain amount against purchase of land and cash. The assessing officer added this undisclosed amount to the taxable income based on the statement made by the assessee during the survey. The appeal was filed challenging this addition before the Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals), who accepted it, citing a judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had ruled that statements recorded under Section 133-A have no evidentiary value, and any admission made during such statements cannot be the basis for addition to taxable income.

The appeal by the revenue before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was dismissed, leading to the current appeal questioning the validity and correctness of the judgments. The appellant argued that since the assessee did not retract from his statement, the law laid down by the Supreme Court in a previous case was not applicable in this situation. However, the court found no merit in this argument. The assessee had specifically asserted before the Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals) that his statement should not have been accepted to make any addition, indicating a clear denial.

Consequently, the court upheld the orders passed by the Commissioner, Income Tax (Appeals) and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, stating that they did not contain any errors. The court concluded that the appeal did not raise any substantial question of law and, therefore, dismissed it.

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