Seized loose paper alone cannot sustain a section 69B addition without corroboration or cross-examination of the third party.

A seized loose paper showing a property transaction, by itself, was treated as insufficient to sustain an addition under section 69B where it did not expressly record any cash payment by the assessee. In the absence of independent enquiry, corroborative evidence, or material proving the alleged cash component, the Tribunal held that the document could not justify the addition. It also noted that denial of an opportunity to cross-examine the third party from whose possession the paper was seized offended natural justice. The addition was therefore deleted.

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Issues: Whether the addition made under section 69B of the Income-tax Act, 1961, on the basis of a seized loose paper showing a property purchase and an alleged cash component, could be sustained in the absence of any corroborative evidence or opportunity to cross-examine the person from whose possession the document was seized.

Analysis: The seized paper merely reflected a total property consideration and a last-column figure, but it did not record that the assessee had paid any amount in cash. The assessment order also did not show any independent enquiry, statement, or other material proving cash payment by the assessee. The Tribunal relied on its own earlier decisions on identical seized material, where such a document was treated as insufficient by itself and where denial of cross-examination of the relevant third party was held to offend the principles of natural justice. In the absence of corroboration, the document was not enough to justify the addition.

Conclusion: The addition of Rs. 15 lakhs was deleted and the assessee's challenge was accepted.

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