https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=775090 ITAT Chandigarh dismissed Revenue's appeals regarding bogus purchases additions. The tribunal held that witness statements recorded without providing the assessee opportunity for cross-examination cannot be used as evidence against the assessee. Since the deponent was not cross-examined and the statement was recorded behind the assessee's back, it was excluded from evidence. With no remaining evidence, the AO's addition was unsustainable. CIT(A)'s deletion of additions was upheld after finding the order well-reasoned. However, the tribunal rejected assessee's cross-objections challenging assessment reopening, holding that AO properly formed prima-facie belief based on credible information from ADIT(Investigation) regarding doubtful nature of purchases. The AO was not required to make categorical findings about income escapement, only form reasonable belief justifying reopening. en-us Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 17 Jul 2025 17:27:36 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=775090 ITAT Chandigarh dismissed Revenue's appeals regarding bogus purchases additions. The tribunal held that witness statements recorded without providing the assessee opportunity for cross-examination cannot be used as evidence against the assessee. Since the deponent was not cross-examined and the statement was recorded behind the assessee's back, it was excluded from evidence. With no remaining evidence, the AO's addition was unsustainable. CIT(A)'s deletion of additions was upheld after finding the order well-reasoned. However, the tribunal rejected assessee's cross-objections challenging assessment reopening, holding that AO properly formed prima-facie belief based on credible information from ADIT(Investigation) regarding doubtful nature of purchases. The AO was not required to make categorical findings about income escapement, only form reasonable belief justifying reopening. Case-Laws Income Tax Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=775090