Section 68 cannot apply to cash deposits in a bank account when the assessee maintains no books of account.

Cash deposits in a savings bank account cannot be assessed under section 68 unless the sum is credited in books of account maintained by the assessee. A bank passbook or bank statement is maintained by the bank and does not itself constitute the assessee's books. Where no books of account are maintained, the statutory precondition for invoking section 68 is absent. On that basis, the Tribunal held that the addition made only on the basis of cash deposits in the savings account was legally unsustainable and deleted it.

---

---

Issues: Whether cash deposits in a savings bank account can be assessed under section 68 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 when no books of account are maintained by the assessee.

Analysis: Section 68 applies only where a sum is found credited in the books of account maintained by the assessee for the relevant previous year. A bank passbook or bank statement is maintained by the bank and does not constitute the assessee's books of account. Since the assessee had not maintained books of account and the addition was made only on the basis of cash deposits in the savings bank account, the precondition for invoking section 68 was absent. The Tribunal therefore accepted the additional ground challenging the legal validity of the addition.

Conclusion: The addition under section 68 was unsustainable and was deleted in favour of the assessee.

---