TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2010 (12) TMI 506
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....on'ble Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was justified in treating the initiation of proceedings under section 147/148 unjustified and untenable and issuance of notice under section 148 to be invalid for the assessment year 1998-99 in which the assessee was found to be owner of Gold and diamond Jewellery as envisaged by section 69A of the Income Tax Act, 1961? 2. In ITA No.155 of 2008, the assessee is individual and filed declaration on 31.12.1997 before the Commissioner under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme, 1997 (VDIS) declaring that he had assets in the form of gold and diamond jewellery acquired much earlier. However, tax having not been paid as per the declaration by virtue of section 67(1) of the Scheme, the declaration ....
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....onclusion of the Tribunal that there was no material with the department apart from the documents relating to VDIS that there was an escapement of income for the assessment year 1998-99 clearly emerges in this case also. The material so relied upon clearly points out that the assets in question were acquired in the assessment year 1986-87 and 1987-88 and not 1998-99. Thus rendering the said material as otiose for assuming jurisdiction under section 147/148 for the assessment year 1988-89. Following the reasoning made out by the Tribunal in the case of Inder Kumar Bachani, HUF (supra) which we have extracted above, the initiation of proceedings under section 147/148 are unjustified and untenable. As a consequence, the subsequent assessment f....
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....e, unless found to be acceptable. The AO was not required to show any further material in view of statutory presumption under Section 69A. Finding of unexplained investment itself could be legal basis unless the statutory presumption was rebutted, burden of which was on the assessee. 6. Learned counsel for the assessee supports the impugned finding. 7. There is no dispute about the proposition that under Section 69A, any undisclosed income or valuables found with the assessee can be added to the income of the year in which the same are found. Learned counsel for the assessee could not dispute this legal proposition. Presumption being rebuttable, if the assessee gives an acceptable explanation, presumption can stand rebutted. The Tr....
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....cified in the notice, a return of his income or the income of any other person in respect of which he is assessable under this Act during the previous year corresponding to the relevant assessment year, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed; and the provisions of this Act shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly as if such return were a return required to be furnished under section 139 : Provided that in a case- (a) where a return has been furnished during the period commencing on the 1st day of October, 1991 and ending on the 30th day of September, 2005 in response to a notice served under this section, and (b) subsequently a notice has ....
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.... under this section, record his reasons for doing so. THE VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE OF INCOME SCHEME, 1997 VOLUNTARILY DISCLOSED ICNOME NOT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL INCOME. 68(1) The amount of the voluntarily disclosed income shall not be included in the total income of the declarant for any assessment year under the Income Tax Act, if the following conditions are fulfilled namely :- i) the declarant credits such amount in the books of account, if any, maintained by him for any source of income or in any other record and intimates the credit so made to the Assessing Officer and ii) the income tax in respect of the voluntarily disclosed income is paid by the declarant within the time specified in section 66 or section 67. 2) ....
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....s." 10. A perusal of the above leads to the following conclusions:- i) If a declaration has been validly made by paying the requisite tax, the amount of income disclosed cannot be included in income of the declarant for any other assessment year and nothing contained in the declaration is admissible in evidence in any proceedings for penalty or prosecution. The particulars of the declaration are to be treated as confidential. If tax is not paid, the declaration is to be treated to have never been made for the purpose of the scheme and the said consequences do not follow. ii) Such a declaration which is not valid for purposes of the scheme can constitute material for re-assessment under section 148 and if it is found that in....