2016 (6) TMI 520 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal Upholds Deletion of Income Additions, Citing Lack of Evidence

DCIT, CIRCLE-11 (1), NEW DELHI Versus M/s I.G. BUILDERS AND PROMOTERS (P) LTD.

The Tribunal dismissed all Revenue's appeals challenging the deletion of additions for undisclosed income sources for various assessment years. The ... Addition on account of income from undisclosed sources - Held that:- We find that the payments have been made as per Collaboration Agreement and ledger account shows the amount of ₹ 21 lacs paid to the owner Sh. Hanwantbir Singh and the copy of construction account of the property No. C-550, Defence Colony, New Delhi in the books of M/s IG Builders and Promoters Pvt. Ltd. The assessee has not purchased this property directly from the owner but has only entered into collaboration agreement for construction of said property and thereby became the owner of 2nd floor and terrace on the 2nd floor of the said property C-550, Defence Colony, New Delhi. As the entire construction cost and amount of ₹ 21 lacs paid to the owner of the said property have been duly reflected in the books of accounts of the assessee. Therefore, Ld. CIT(A) has rightly held that AO was not justified in making the addition of ₹ 91 lacs as income from undisclosed sources and accordingly deleted the addition. Issues involved:- Deletion of addition of Rs. 91 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources for AY 2003-04- Deletion of addition of Rs. 60 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources for AY 2006-07- Deletion of addition of Rs. 82.50 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources for AY 2006-07Analysis:Issue 1: Deletion of addition of Rs. 91 lacs (AY 2003-04)- The Department appealed against the order of the Ld. CIT(A) deleting the addition of Rs. 91 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources.- The Tribunal found that the payments were made as per a Collaboration Agreement, and the amount of Rs. 21 lacs paid to the property owner was duly reflected in the books of accounts.- The Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision, stating that the AO was not justified in making the addition and accordingly dismissed the ground raised by the Revenue.- Since the first issue was resolved in favor of the Assessee, the Tribunal did not adjudicate on the subsequent issues, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal.Issue 2: Deletion of addition of Rs. 60 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources (AY 2006-07)- The Department contested the deletion of the addition of Rs. 60 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources for AY 2006-07.- The Tribunal examined the entries on page 8 of document A-7 and found that the AO's contention lacked merit as there was no link between the front and reverse sides of the page.- The Tribunal agreed with the CIT(A) that the entries could not be deciphered as income from undisclosed sources, leading to the dismissal of the ground raised by the Revenue.- Additionally, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision to delete the addition of Rs. 60 lacs as there was no substantial evidence to support the AO's claim, resulting in the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal on this issue.Issue 3: Deletion of addition of Rs. 82.50 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources (AY 2006-07)- The Department challenged the deletion of the addition of Rs. 82.50 lacs on account of income from undisclosed sources for AY 2006-07.- The Tribunal reviewed the entries on page 11 of document A-7 and noted that most entries lacked dates and specifics, making it unsuitable for determining income for the relevant assessment year.- Agreeing with the CIT(A), the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal as there was insufficient evidence to support the inclusion of the entire set of transactions as income from undisclosed sources.- Consequently, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision on this issue, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal on the deletion of the addition of Rs. 82.50 lacs.In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed all the Revenue's appeals concerning the deletion of additions on account of income from undisclosed sources for the respective assessment years based on the lack of substantiating evidence and the reasoned decisions of the CIT(A).