2015 (3) TMI 808

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....bunal, Patna Bench, Patna by which the appeal of the assessee-appellant has been allowed in part but with regard to additions of two amounts of Rs. 1.50 lacs and Rs. 1 lac which the assessee claimed to have been received from his mother and wife respectively, the order of the Assessing Officer has been upheld. The assessee is a proprietor of M/s. H.K. Footwear which deals in footwear; during the course of search and seizure under Section 132 of the Act held on 27.11.1996 certain facts came to light and notice under Section 158 BC of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was issued for filing return for the block period under consideration. Thereafter notice under Section 143(2) was also issued. During the course of assessment proceedings the assessee, ....

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....he appellant having offered explanation about the nature and source of the investments, the burden thereafter shifted upon the Assessing Officer and that burden has not been discharged by him. In support of the aforesaid proposition, learned counsel relies upon a decision of the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Sarogi Credit Corporation Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax, Bihar: (1976) 103 ITR 344 in which it was held as follows:- "........ In my view, the law is too well-settled, and this I say not only on account of consensus of judicial opinion, but also for the additional reason that, stretching the doctrine of onus too far, in the case of entries in favour of third parties, who themselves come forth and admit that they had adva....

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.... assessee, but in the name of an independent party, the burden will still lie upon him to establish the identity of that party and to satisfy the Income-tax Officer that the entry is real and not fictitious. Once the identity of the third party is established before the Income-tax Officer and other such evidence are prima facie placed before him pointing to the fact that the entry is not fictitious, the initial burden lying on the assessee can be said to have been duly discharged by him." Learned counsel has also relied upon decisions of the Apex Court in the case of Commissioner of Income-Tax V. Smt. P.K. Noorjahan: (1999) 237 ITR 570 and in the case of Commissioner of Income-Tax V. P.V. Bhoopathy: (2006) 283 ITR 365 (Madras). Learned co....

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....counsel that in the present matter the entries were in the name of the appellant himself and no corroborating documents could be produced by the appellant to show when the mother or wife of the appellant had given the said amounts except the affidavits of such close relations. Thus, the said heavy burden which lay on the assessee as per the decision of this Court in Sarogi Credit Corporation's case (supra) has certainly not been discharged. From a perusal of Section 132 coupled with Section 69 of the Act, it is evident that it is for the assessee to offer satisfactory explanation as to the source of income with regard to any investments found to have been made by him and if the explanation offered is not satisfactory, then it is open to th....