2025 (12) TMI 1638 - AT - Income Tax

Loan agreement for Rs. 35 crore NBFC loan and alleged Rs. 25 crore cash portion; s.69A/115BBE addition deleted

The dominant issue was whether a sum treated as unexplained money under s. 69A r/w s. 115BBE could be added solely on directors' statements alleging that, ... Unexplained money/income u/s 69A r/w section 115BBE - addition on the basis of statement of 2 directors - statements clearly state that loan of Rs. 35.00 Crore was given by the assessee at interest of @ 12%. Out of this, the loan of Rs. 10.00 Crore only was taken by cheque and no satisfactory explanation was given by the assessee in respect of remaining amount of Rs. 25.00 Crore taken in cash - HELD THAT:- CIT(A) after taking into consideration the explanation furnished by the assessee coupled with the loan agreement entered into between M/s. Nivedan Fin-Invest Lease Ltd. i.e. the assessee and M/s JBK Developers Pvt Ltd. giving loan of Rs. 10 crores @ 3.5% per month to M/s JBK Developers Pvt. Ltd. observed that assessee as NBFC had granted loans to various entities ranging between 36% to 42% and had received on such rates, TDS had been deducted by the borrowers and the credit thereof claimed in the ITR was allowed to the assessee. Authenticity of the loan agreement has not been controverted by the Revenue. The Ld. DR could not point out any specific flaw or infirmity in the impugned order passed by the Ld. First Appellate Authority so as to take a contrary view in the matter. Thus, we are constrained to uphold the decision of the Ld. CIT(A) in deleting the impugned addition - Revenue’s appeal is dismissed. 1. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED 1) Whether the addition of Rs. 25 crores as unexplained money under section 69A (with tax consequences under section 115BBE) could be sustained when it was inferred from third-party statements and a general application of a 12% interest rate, despite documentary evidence of a recorded loan of Rs. 10 crores carrying interest at 3.5% per month. 2) Whether reliance on statements of third parties, without corroborative evidence and without affording cross-examination, was sufficient to uphold the inference that an additional Rs. 25 crores was advanced in cash. 3) Whether the appellate deletion of the addition was justified on the evidentiary evaluation that the loan agreement and surrounding material explained the monthly interest figure and negated the 'cash loan' hypothesis. 2. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS Issue 1: Sustainability of addition under section 69A for alleged cash loan of Rs. 25 crores Legal framework (as discussed in the judgment): The addition was made by the Assessing Officer as 'unexplained money/income' under section 69A read with section 115BBE. The appellate and tribunal reasoning proceeded on whether there was adequate material to treat Rs. 25 crores as unaccounted cash advanced. Interpretation and reasoning: The core basis of the addition was an inference: since monthly interest of Rs. 35,00,000/- was noted and a 12% per annum interest rate was assumed from third-party statements, the principal was estimated at Rs. 35 crores; since Rs. 10 crores was reflected by cheque, the balance Rs. 25 crores was treated as cash. The Court accepted the appellate finding that this inference failed once the contemporaneous loan agreement showed the loan principal as Rs. 10 crores and stipulated interest at 3.5% per month, which itself explains monthly interest of Rs. 35,00,000/- without requiring any assumed 12% rate or a larger principal. The Tribunal noted that the Revenue did not controvert the authenticity of the loan agreement and could not point to any specific flaw in the appellate findings. Conclusions: The Court upheld deletion of the addition, holding that the documentary evidence explaining the interest and principal displaced the speculative computation of a larger loan and ruled out the alleged 'co-existence' of an additional cash loan of Rs. 25 crores on the same interest premise. Issue 2: Evidentiary sufficiency of third-party statements and absence of cross-examination/corroboration Legal framework (as discussed in the judgment): The reasoning addressed the evidentiary value of statements relied on by the Assessing Officer and the requirement of supportive material, particularly where cross-examination was not provided and the statements were not corroborated by independent evidence. Interpretation and reasoning: The appellate authority found that the relied-upon statements were 'generic' and were applied sweepingly to the assessee's transaction. The mobile data entry referenced 'two cheques' for the interest amount, undermining the premise of cash dealings for interest. The appellate authority further held that once the assessee's director's statement and the loan agreement explained the recorded loan and interest, the onus shifted to the Assessing Officer to bring positive evidence of any cash loan; this was not done. The Tribunal endorsed this evaluation, noting that the Revenue did not rebut the documentary foundation and that the assessment was left without logical corroboration (including the fact that a verification notice to the borrower remained uncomplied, without further evidentiary development). Conclusions: The Court accepted that statements of third parties, without cross-examination and without corroborative evidence capable of displacing the loan agreement and accounted transaction, were insufficient to sustain the addition premised on an alleged cash advance. Issue 3: Justification for appellate deletion based on documentary evidence and surrounding conduct Legal framework (as discussed in the judgment): The decision turned on the evidentiary appraisal: whether the assessee's materials (loan agreement and related documents) credibly explained the transaction and negated the inference of unaccounted cash. Interpretation and reasoning: The appellate authority relied on the loan agreement executed on judicial stamp paper specifying principal of Rs. 10 crores and interest at 3.5% per month, and treated it as conclusive evidence explaining the monthly interest figure. It also considered that the assessee, as an NBFC, had advanced multiple loans at similarly high rates (36% to 42%) with interest accounted for and TDS reflected, supporting the plausibility of the agreed rate. The appellate authority additionally treated later conduct (a creditor claim in insolvency proceedings referencing only Rs. 10 crores and the same agreement) as consistent with the assessee's version. The Tribunal upheld these findings, emphasizing that the loan agreement's authenticity was not controverted and no infirmity was shown. Conclusions: The Court held the deletion was justified because the recorded agreement and supporting circumstances explained the interest figure and the recorded principal, leaving the 'cash loan' theory as suspicion unsupported by proof; consequently, the Revenue's appeal was dismissed and the deletion of Rs. 25 crores was affirmed.