Unexplained cash deposits under section 69A upheld where third-party ownership claim lacked satisfactory evidence.

Cash deposits credited to bank accounts in the assessee's name were treated as unexplained money under section 69A because the assessee failed to support the claim that the funds belonged to a third person with satisfactory evidence. The Tribunal held that, without a credible and consistent explanation of the nature and source of the deposits, the statutory onus under section 69A remained undischarged. The addition was therefore upheld and the assessee's appeal was dismissed.

---

---

Issues: Whether the addition of cash deposits as unexplained money under section 69A was sustainable when the assessee claimed that the deposits belonged to another person and that the source of the cash was not satisfactorily explained.

Analysis: The bank accounts stood in the assessee's name and cash deposits were made therein. The assessee's explanation that the money belonged to a third person was not supported by satisfactory evidence before the Tribunal. In the absence of a credible and consistent explanation of the nature and source of the cash deposits, the statutory onus under section 69A remained undischarged.

Conclusion: The addition under section 69A was upheld and the assessee's appeal was dismissed.

---