TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (1) TMI 1593
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....ate only to one of those 10 appeals in I.T.T.A.No.55/HYD/2015, which relates to the Assessment Year 2009-10. 2. We have heard Ms. K. Mamta Choudary, learned Senior Standing Counsel for I.T. Department and Mr. R. Sivaraman, learned Counsel representing Mr. N. Vijay for the Assessee. 3. The assessee is an individual belonging to the tinsel world. He filed his return of income for the Assessment Year 2009-10 on 30.09.2009 admitting an income of Rs. 3,16,76,600/-, besides an agricultural income. The case was selected for scrutiny and a notice under Section 143 (2) and 142 (1) was issued on 6.11.2013. 4. The Assessing Officer completed the assessment under Section 143 (3) r/w Section 153A and made certain additions including the addi....
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....order of assessment, the department is aggrieved by one observation contained in the order of the Tribunal to the effect that no addition can be made without a direct evidence linking the assessee to the cash payments. Therefore, the department has come up with the appeal in I.T.T.A.No.208 of 2016. 7. The assessee has come up with the appeal I.T.T.A.No.226 of 2016 contending that once the order of the Assessing Officer as confirmed by the C.I.T. Appeals is found to be vitiated by non- observance of principles of natural justice, the order of assessment was void abinitio and there was no question of remanding the matter back. 8. The questions of law raised by the Revenue in their memorandum of appeal I.T.T.A.No.208 of 2016 are as follo....
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....the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal is right in law in remitting the issue relating to payment of on- money to the file of the Assessing Officer, even though it had observed that principles of natural justice is not followed and cross-examination is also not offered to the appellant? 3. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal is right in law in remitting the issue relating to payment of on- money even though it had given a factual finding that the assessing officer did not have any other materials to establish that the appellant had paid such on-money in the present case and thereby giving an opportunity to the assessing officer to re-open the entire issue again? ....
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....ssessee to cross-examine the said Ranga Rao. Therefore, the case was clearly one of violation of the principles of natural justice. 12. The law is very clear that whenever an order is vitiated for non-compliance with the principles of natural justice, the order should be set aside and the matter remitted back to the same authority. It is only in cases where the original authority had lost its jurisdiction in the meantime, an order of remand cannot be passed. 13. The powers of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal to pass an order of remand are not in doubt nor in dispute. Therefore, the contention that an order of assessment passed in violation of the principles of natural justice is void abinitio, is completely contrary to the fundamenta....
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....word on the flip side, in the portion extracted above. Therefore it cannot be taken to be a dictate to the Assessing Officer to decide the case in a particular manner. 17. As a matter of fact, the department has failed to appreciate one thing. The evidence for the payment of on-money, over and above what is indicated in the documents, may arise in two different methods. It may arise on the basis of the recipient of on-money giving a statement to the effect. Alternatively it may arise circumstantially on the basis of the payments made by all other purchasers in the very same project. 18. The case of the assessee is alleged to fall under the second category. This is not a case where the company M/s. Emaar Hills Township (P) Ltd., has ad....