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2018 (6) TMI 1547

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....the Income Tax Act, 1961 have been deleted as under: I.T.A. No. Assessee Assessment year Issue Amount (in Rs.) 5568/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2003-04 Quantum 19,11,675 5571/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2004-05 Quantum 29,31,204 5567/Mum/2016  Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2006-07 Quantum 89,197 5570/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2007-08 Quantum 99,289 5569/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2008-09 Quantum 1,50,139 5889/Mum/2016  Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2003-04  u/s. 271(1)(c) 17,54,370 5891/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2004-05 u/s. 271(1)(c) 26,90,844 5890/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2006-07  u/s. 271(1)(c) 81,882 5892/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh  2007-08  u/s. 271(1)(c) 91,147 5893/Mum/2016 Shri Rahul Rajnikant Parikh 2008-09 u/s. 271(1)(c) 1,37,825 5576//Mum/2016 Kalpesh R. Jhaveri 2003-04  Quantum 19,11,081 5575/Mum/2016  Kalpesh R. Jhaveri 2004-05 Quantum 29,31,204 5574/Mum/2016 Kalpes....

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....ion in the case has been accepted by the Department, or (d) Where the addition relates to undisclosed foreign assets/ bank accounts. From the reading of the above, it is clear that this appeal has been filed inasmuch as it falls under paragraph 8(d) wherein irrespective of the tax effect, appeals have to be contested where the addition relates to undisclosed foreign assets/bank accounts. In the present case, we have noted that assessee is having foreign bank account and information thereof has been received by Indian authorities inasmuch as the assessee has used Indian address. Stashing black money in foreign bank accounts is anathema to tax authorities world over and is being vigorously enquired upon by various tax jurisdictions. In such contemporaneous scenario, by no stretch of imagination it can be said that an appeal against an adverse judgment in case the deposit of undisclosed money in foreign bank account has been filed without application of mind. Accordingly, in our considered opinion, this submission of the learned counsel of the assessee cannot be sustained. Hence, in our considered opinion, the appeal by the Revenue having been filed in accordance with the ....

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....r on the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, the Ld.CIT(A) is correct in ignoring the provisions of Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 which reads as under and amply applies to the case of the assessee:- "Section 114. Court may presume existence of certain facts - The Court may presume the existence of any fact which it thinks likely to have happened, regard being had to the common course of natural events, human conduct and public and private business, in their relation to the facts of the particular case. The Court may presume - .... (g) That evidence which could be and is no! produced would, if produced be unfavorable to the person who withholds it...... " Section 114(g) of The Indian Evidence Act. 1872, thus clearly says that the Courts can presume existence of certain facts if the person liable to produce evidence which could be and Is not produced, which if produced would have been unfavourable to the person who withholds it. 7. Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, the Ld. CIT(A) is correct in ignoring that the assessee has never disclosed the facts of his having the HSBC, Geneva Acco....

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....Amount (1NR) 24.04.2004 66376.90 Rs. 44.16 29,31,204   Date of deposit Amount (USD) 24.04.2004 66376.90   For A.Y. 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09: Date of deposit  Amount (USD) 8.1.2003  12000 14.1.2003  7990 5.3.2003 20000 24.4.2004 66376.90   As per the narration on the bank statement, the first two credits are from Pearl Enterprise LLC and Exim Jewellers LLC respectively whereas no narration is available with the third credit entry. 7. During the assessment proceedings, the following queries were raised before the assessee for him to explain the source of the above deposits: (a)Explanation on the credit entries appearing with evidences. (b)Whether the HSBC, Geneva account was disclosed before the US tax authorities (c) Whether his Indian passport was used by him to open an account in HSBC, Geneva. The assessee could only produce the credit advice with regard to the first two deposits in which it is stated that the remittance was made from Habib American Bank. However, no further details were provided to explain the source of the above credits apart fr....

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.... business outside India cannot be independent of that in India. The report of the Indian Express on 10.2.2015 on the topic "Why diamonds are the HSBC list's best friend" reported that: (a) A Paris-based Financial Action Task Force handed in a report revealing what lies at the heart of the diamond trade: close family ties and kinship. "According to industry sources, it is difficult for a new and unknown individual to get involved in the trade of diamonds without being referred or introduced by an already established dealer, the task force summed up. - (b) In the HSBC list, 77 account-holders are connected to the diamond industry, their deposits totaling an estimated $203 million. Of the 77 account holders, 64 are beneficial owners from 12 families and only 13 are individual account holders.  (c) There is a common thread: all have bases in the Belgian city of Antwerp, the international capital of rough diamond international capital of rough diamond trade, industry sources say many Indian diamond trading families migrated to Belgium in the 1960s and 1970s. Trade in rough diamonds takes place in Antwerp, London, Tel Aviv, Dubai and, in recent years, ....

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.... of this Act, the total income of any previous year of a person who is a non-resident includes all income from whatever source derived which (a) is received or is deemed to be received in India in such year by or on behalf of such person; or . (b) accrues or arises or is deemed to accrue or arise to him in India during such year". 12. During the assessment proceedings and as can be seen from the facts of the case that the assessee has not made out case that the deposits in the above mentioned accounts in HSBC, Geneva do not fall within the ambit of this provision of law. 13. In view of the above, the circumstances are such that the ultimate source of the credits in the HSBC, Geneva account can be deduced to be from India. This presumption is as per the provision of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The case of the assessee is even worse than any presumption of certain facts as it is a matter of fact that the said HSBC, Geneva account was never disclosed by the assessee in his returns of income anywhere in the world and hence taxes have never been paid on the credits as mentioned in the account. The addition for the different Ays are as under: 2003-04 &nbs....

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....to be sufficient evidence to hold that the said amount would have a bearing for tax purposes in India. The reference made by the appellant to the decision of Chennai tribunal in the case of Smt. Sushila Ramaswamy versus ACIT (2010) 37 SOT 146 (Chennai) is found to be relevant to the facts of the present case. Similarly the provisions of section 5 do not permit taxation of amount remitted to India from sources outside India which is not income under the provisions of the act. This issue has been elaborately discussed by the coordinate bench in the case of DCIT versus Birla Corporation limited referred supra and I find that the facts of that case are also directly applicable to the case. Therefore in my considered opinion the appellant being a non-resident having money in a foreign country and with the income not finding any evidence of it being received or deemed to be received or arisen in India, cannot be asked to pay tax on the same in India. Merely relying on newspaper reports all the working of a particular business as having been reported as the modus operandi would not be sufficient evidence to add income in the hands of the taxpayer. One of the grounds also taken up by th....

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....the assessee has not produced the bills against which these payments were made nor the material sold. As far as the credit of USD 20000 is concerned, there is no explanation as the bank statement itself mentions only 'by order of a client'. No further evidence has been brought on record by the assessee to explain this." 20. Under these circumstances, the Assessing Officer proceeded to add the entire deposits in the bank account to both the assessee's income. In the rest of the years, the interest accrued in the said account was also added. The ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), on the other hand, has deleted the addition on the premise that it is a foreign bank account of a non-resident and the deposits therein cannot be added in the hands of the assessee individual. 21. Having carefully perused the facts and circumstances of the case, firstly, we note that at the time of opening of the bank account in Geneva, the assessee was a US citizen and resident and he was holding a US passport. Still the assessee chose to open the account in HSBC bank account in Geneva by using the address and proof thereof by way of his Indian passport which was no longer valid when he....