TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (5) TMI 249
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....l particulars on record for adjudicating the controversy in hand. 4. Because the remand report of the Assessing Officer substantiated with the statement of the Bank Manager being a 3rd party itself justifies & reveals the contention of the assessee to be correct and requiring examination by the Assessing Officer/CIT(A). 5. Because the prayer is for kindly allowing any addition, modification, deletion, amendment in the grounds of appeal along with the consequential benefit thereon before the disposal of the appeal in the interest of substantial justice for a decision in accordance with law." 2. At the time of hearing, an adjournment application was moved on behalf of the assessee. None was present in support thereof. However, considering the material available on record, it was deemed appropriate to proceed with the present appeal ex-parte qua the assessee appellant on merits after hearing the ld. Sr. DR. 3. The relevant facts of the case are that in view of cash deposits made in assessee's Saving Bank account No. 0660000100036648 maintained with Punjab National Bank, Fatehpur an addition of Rs. 27 lacs was made by the AO. 4. The assessee challenged th....
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....ions extracted in page 4 of the impugned order shows that it was stated, "Further to submit that there is transfer entry of deposit amounting to Rs. 17,70,000/- on dt. 31.12.2010 & similarly amount withdrawn & transferred to account no. 0904000210151272, amounting Rs. 4,50,000/- on same day dt. 31.12.2010 & balance amount withdrawn through transfer entry of Rs. 13,20,000/- on dt. 01.01.2011, the very next date. The said entries are similarly unauthorized transactions (supra). The Said entries are similarly unauthorized transaction are easily traceable as the same are transfer entries & the real beneficiary of said transactions are the account holder of transferor of amount to assessee's account & transferee of withdrawn amount from assessee's account. (emphasis supplied) 4.3. It is also seen that the assessee also relied upon the letter written to PNB Chairman stating more or less the above facts. Copy of which was stated to have been made available to the CIT(A) at Paper Book page 9 requesting the said authority to also make an enquiry regarding unauthorized deposit and withdrawal of amount from his bank account. 4.4. The lack of PAN detail of the person depositing t....
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....ces furnished by the assessee during appellate proceedings. On the issue of deposit of Rs. 27,00,000/- in the bank account of the assessee, statement of the Manager is reproduced as under: 7. The Bank Manager, did not clarify in his statement who is actual beneficiary of the transaction of Rs. 27,00,000/-. However, from perusal of bank account statement it revealed that amount of Rs. 27,00,000/- was deposited into bank account of the assessee on 31.12.2010 but no documentary evidence of enquiries, if any made earlier to the assessment proceedings from the Bank Authorities by the assessee regarding these cash deposits was furnished whereas assessee had been making frequent deposits and withdrawals from time to time in the said bank-account The plea taken by the assessee that he was unaware about these entries and told those entries as unauthorized transactions made by anyone else after the case was taken into scrutiny The plea of the assessee at that stage is under question mark? Keeping in view of the above, it can be concluded that the addition was made by the A.O. on merits taking into consideration the bank account statement where it clearly reflected that the ....
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....chers filed do show initials and has not been disproved with evidence. Moreover, no complaint was ever filed by the appellant with the bank, if the deposit was not made by him. Therefore, the A.O. has rightly made the said addition and I confirm the same." (emphasis supplied) 8. The ld. Sr. DR has been heard. He was required to address as to how the tax authorities have failed to address the fact that the specific bank account No. 0904000210151272 was stated to belong to Shri Pawan Kumar Gupta, Bank Manager, Pundri and how they are relying upon some alleged signature in the deposit slip which admittedly has not been submitted to any forensic examination. The fact that the cash deposits had been made without mentioning the specific currency totaling to Rs. 27 lacs, the fact that PAN details, address etc. of the depositor are not mentioned therein, the fact that the funds were withdrawn from the assessee's bank account and ultimately deposited in the specific bank account No. 0904000210151272 stated to belong to erstwhile Manager Shri Pawan Kumar Gupta remain unrebutted. These facts, if correct, squarely support the assessee's claim. The ld. Sr. DR was specificall....
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....er, considering the fact that since the correctness of the above assertions need to be verified, it is deemed appropriate to set aside the impugned order directing the tax authorities to take into consideration the fact that there has been a continued lapse on the part of the specific PNB Branch in as much as the currency details remained unmentioned, PAN details of the depositor of the huge cash amount remains unaddressed and above all, the fact that the beneficiary account No. 0904000210151272 is claimed to belong to Shri Pawan Kumar Gupta, Bank Manager of PNB, Pundri needs to be specifically addressed. 10. It can never be over emphasized that justice should not only be done but also seen to be done. The inordinate reliance placed upon the depositing slip which to the naked eyes of the AO or the tax authorities appears to be of the assessee without caring to subject it to forensic examination is an act of gross carelessness and an irresponsible lapse of procedure and an unfortunate example of whimsical and arbitrary exercise of power. In these peculiar facts and circumstances, the order which is a prime example of gross carelessness and abuse of power reeking of multiple failu....
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....hat it is still woefully dis-proportionate and very small vis-à-vis the economy needs proper appreciation. The fact that it is the most powerful engine powering this growth and thus, has a direct role alongwith the tax machinery cannot be ignored. Hence, the robustness cannot be compromised with. 13. Thus, similarly, the tax authorities necessarily need to have effective and meaningful protocols in place in order to ensure that they are not only trained to be citizen friendly but also seen to be so with robust powers of engaging positively with small town assessees and enabling them to be tax compliant. To expect that the U.S.D. 5 trillion aspirations can be realized with selective encouragements without the active involvement of the village economy and the small town aspirations is being very short sighted. The aspirations can only be realized if the Indian juggernaut in its entirety is put in motion. I am of the view that in order to realize this generally feasible and not highly optimistic ambition of a global economic force status. The tax authorities should be necessarily and urgently trained to enable the nurturing, fuelling and funneling of the small town aspiratio....