2013 (7) TMI 1253 - AT - Income Tax

Addition of Rs.14,00,000 deleted as survey admission uncorroborated; conditional surrender without voluntariness cannot sustain assessment

ITAT held that the addition of Rs.14,00,000 could not be sustained and deleted it. The Tribunal found the Rs.50,00,000 survey admission was ... - ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED 1. Whether an addition to income based solely on an admission/surrender recorded during survey under section 133A can be sustained where the assessee subsequently files a revised return surrendering a lesser amount and furnishes calculations based on impounded documents. 2. Whether a confession or admission made during survey proceedings, unsupported by corroborative documentary evidence, is conclusive against the assessee for assessment purposes. 3. Whether conditional surrender made by an assessee during assessment proceedings (i.e., surrender made subject to non-initiation of penal action) can be treated as a valid, voluntary admission for the purpose of making an addition when penalty proceedings are in fact initiated. 4. What is the role of assessing and appellate authorities in verifying calculations and seized/impounded material relied upon by the assessee to establish that the admission recorded during survey overstated the undisclosed income. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS Issue 1 - Sustenance of addition based solely on survey admission vs. revised surrender supported by impounded documents Legal framework: Survey under section 133A permits recording of statements and impounding of documents; admissions in statements may form part of material for assessment but must be tested against available documentary evidence and verifications during assessment. Precedent treatment: The Court (Tribunal) relied on established authorities holding that admissions are not conclusive and may be retracted or shown to be incorrect if demonstrated by evidence (cases cited from various High Courts and ITAT decisions, including precedents recognizing that admissions during search/survey are not binding if not supported by corroborative evidence). Interpretation and reasoning: The Tribunal examined the survey folder and found no basis in the survey papers for the surrendered figure of Rs.50,00,000. At the time of survey, complete records were not available to the assessee; the assessee's surrender was an estimate made without full documentation. Subsequently the assessee furnished a working based on impounded documents showing surrendered income of Rs.36,00,000 and filed that amount in the revised return. The AO and the first appellate authority did not verify the assessee's computation against seized material. Absent such verification, the Tribunal concluded the addition of Rs.14,00,000 (difference between 50 and 36 lacs) could not be sustained. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - An addition based solely on an admission during survey cannot be upheld where the assessee produces a documentary computation based on impounded material and the authorities fail to verify that computation from the seized material. Obiter - Observations on the assessee's state of mind (e.g., surrender for 'peace of mind') contextualize credibility but are ancillary. Conclusions: The addition based solely on the survey admission was not justified; the assessing authority should have verified the assessee's computation against impounded documents before making the addition. Issue 2 - Evidentiary value of confessions/admissions recorded during survey/search Legal framework: Admissions and confessions recorded during survey/search are admissible but their evidentiary weight depends on corroboration by independent documentary or material evidence; administrative instructions caution against reliance on uncorroborated confessions. Precedent treatment: The Tribunal applied CBDT Instruction No. 286/2/2003-IT (Inv.) emphasizing that confessions during search/survey not supported by creditable evidence are unreliable. It relied on High Court and Tribunal precedents establishing that admissions are not conclusive proof and may be shown to be incorrect. Interpretation and reasoning: The Tribunal emphasized that survey confessions without corroborating documentary basis are of limited value. Where the survey party did not demonstrate how the Rs.50,00,000 was calculated and where the assessee subsequently provided a document-based computation pointing to a lower figure, the original confession could be retracted or explained away. The lack of any verification by the AO/CIT(A) of the assessee's computation undermined the value of the survey statement. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Uncorroborated admissions/confessions recorded during survey cannot be conclusive and, in absence of corroboration, cannot justify additions. Obiter - Reinforcement of administrative instruction discouraging extraction of confessions during survey. Conclusions: The survey admission did not constitute conclusive evidence of undisclosed income; corroboration from impounded documents and verification by authorities are necessary before making an addition based on such admissions. Issue 3 - Validity of conditional surrender where penalty proceedings are initiated Legal framework: Voluntariness and unconditionality of admission/surrender affect its evidentiary weight; an admission made conditionally (e.g., to avoid penal action) may lack voluntariness if the condition is not fulfilled or if penalty proceedings are initiated. Precedent treatment: The Tribunal treated legal principles concerning voluntariness and retraction of admissions as controlling, citing authority that admissions may be retracted or shown to be incorrect and are not estoppel where made under mistake or compulsion. Interpretation and reasoning: The assessee asserted that the surrender was conditional on non-initiation of penal action and later retracted the higher surrender when filing the revised return. The AO initiated penalty proceedings under section 271(1)(c), demonstrating that the condition was not honored. Given that the surrender at assessment stage was made subject to a condition that was not met, the Tribunal found the surrender lacked voluntariness and could not be read against the assessee as conclusive evidence. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - A surrender or admission made conditionally to avoid penal action, where penalty proceedings are nonetheless initiated, cannot be treated as a voluntary, conclusive admission for assessment purposes. Obiter - Observations about motives ('peace of mind') are explanatory and not strictly necessary to the legal holding. Conclusions: Conditional surrender in the circumstances was not a valid, voluntary admission and could not sustain the addition when authorities failed to verify the alternative documentary computation. Issue 4 - Obligation of authorities to verify seized/impounded material and assessors' failure to do so Legal framework: Assessing and appellate authorities are required to examine and verify documentary material impounded during survey/search in order to substantiate any addition based on information arising from such operations; simply relying on unverified statements is insufficient. Precedent treatment: The Tribunal applied prior decisions where appellate intervention was upheld because the assessing authority had not verified the seized material and had relied on provisional figures or admissions subsequently shown to be factually incorrect by impounded papers. Interpretation and reasoning: The AO reproduced the assessee's revised computation but did not verify it against the impounded documents. The CIT(A) affirmed the addition relying on the survey statement, again without pointing to documentary proof contradicting the assessee's calculation. The Tribunal held that, in these circumstances, the authorities erred in failing to undertake the necessary verification; the matter was one of factual assessment of seized records rather than acceptance of an uncorroborated oral surrender. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Authorities must verify calculations based on impounded documents before making additions; failure to do so renders additions unsustainable. Obiter - None beyond procedural emphasis. Conclusions: The authorities' failure to verify the assessee's documentary computations against the seized material undermined the basis for the addition; the Tribunal set aside the addition accordingly. Final Disposition Given that the surrender of Rs.50,00,000 recorded during survey lacked documentary basis in the survey folder, that the assessee produced a computation based on impounded documents showing surrendered income of Rs.36,00,000 which was not verified by the authorities, and that the higher surrender was conditionally made (with penalty proceedings subsequently initiated), the Tribunal held the addition of Rs.14,00,000 (difference between Rs.50,00,000 and Rs.36,00,000) could not be sustained and deleted the addition.