AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (11) TMI 274
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....he parties and are being disposed off by this consolidated order. 3. At the outset of hearing the ld. AR of the assessee submitted that the matter in ITA No. 466/JP/2025 may be taken as a lead case for discussions as the issues which are common for the subsequent year be decided accordingly. On this ld. DR did not raise any specific objection against taking that case as a lead case. Therefore, for the purpose of the present discussions, the case of ITA No. 466/JP/2025 for Assessment Year 2016-17 is taken as a lead case. 4. Before moving towards the facts of the case in the lead case we would like to mention that the assessee has assailed the appeal for assessment year 2016-17 in ITA No. 466/JP/2025 on the following grounds; 1. In the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, ld. CIT(A) has erred in confirming the action of ld. AO in assuming jurisdiction under section 153C of the IT Act, 1961. The action of the ld. CIT(A) is illegal, unjustified, arbitrary and against the facts of the case. Relief may please be granted by quashing the assessment order passed under section 153C being illegal and without jurisdiction. 2. In the facts and circumstances of....
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....hin 30 days of receipt of the notice. In response to the said notice u/s 153C, a return declaring an income of Rs.2, 18,95,010/- was filed by the assessee on 16.02.2023. The jurisdictional AO has issued notice u/s 143(2) dated 10.04.2023 and asked to file certain information/details in support of income during the year under consideration. Thereafter, the case was centralized to ACIT, Central Circle-2, Jaipur vide order u/s 127 of PCIT-2, Jaipur vide order dated 13.07.2023. The assessment proceedings were commenced by issuance of notice u/s 142(1) along with questionnaire on 18.12.2023. 5.1 In the questionnaire issued by the ld. AO it was contended by the ld. AO that Gokul Kripa Group accepts on money (in cash) on sales of its plots in all its ongoing projects. Gokul Kripa Group made payments in cash out of books while purchasing the land for its projects. This facts were accepted in the statement recorded. The assessee including his family members also sold their land to the Group. That Group has developed two schemes namely Royal Residency Phase-1 and Phase -2 in Sanganer Tehsil, Jaipur that scheme land was purchased from the assessee and its family members. During the course ....
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.... payment for the stamp charges. Thus, the balance cash payment of Rs. 58,62,01,800/- was not recorded in the regular books of accounts. Based on the payment made by an account payee cheque ld. AO in respect of the assessee and his group tabulated the cash payment and cheque payment made by Gokul Kripa Group at page 28 & 29 of the assessment order. The chart so prepared reads as follows: S.No (i) Name of the assessee(ii) Amount received through cheque(iii) Total amount received in cash (iv) Prop. Amount received in cash in ratio of amount received in cheque(iii*iv/vi) 1 AnshuSahay HUF 25,84,80,000 56,31,38,250 37,43,82,651 2 Dr.MadhuriSahay 1,41,60,000 2,05,09,356 3 Shri AnshuSahay 11,61,60,000 16,82,46,252 Total 38,88,00,000(vi) 56,31,38,250 Based on that tabulation, the ld. AO issued a show cause notices to the assessee asking as to why the cash receipts of Rs. 37,43,82,651/- pertaining to A. Y. 2016-17 to 2018-19 against the sale of land may not considered as undisclosed income of the assessee. The assessee submitted the reply which ld. AO placed on record. Ld. AO noted that the searched group i.e. Gok....
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....channel are duly corroborated with the bank statements making it amply clear that the transactions made in cash had also been executed by the search group meaning thereby the assessee has received cash payments over and above the payments received through banking channel. Moreover, the assessee has failed to respond to the query in this regard and mere denial without any documentary evidence has no force in the eye of law. The assessee has challenged the addition u/s 68 of the Act. The addition was made due to the facts that the cash receipts remained unaccounted and not part of regular books of accounts. At an appellate state, if it is held by any appellate authority that the cash receipts by the assessee company cannot be treated u/s 68 of the Act, then the cash receipts will be taken as receipts for calculations of income from capital gain for the year under consideration. The incriminating material found/seized in the search and seizure action in "Gokul Kripa Group" was in the form of diaries/ registers including digital record wherein transactions executed by the key persons of the company GKCDPL, is written/mentioned. Ld. AO thereby noted that; a) These digital recor....
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.... mentioned in registered deed (total sale of land in F.Y. 2015-16, 2016-17) and cash receipts of Rs.37,43,82,651/- (Rs 16,21,91,214/- for A.Y. 2016. 17 Rs. 17,81,66,880/- for A.Y.2017-18 and Rs.3,40,24,557/- in A.Y. 2018-19) that were received over and above the consideration received through banking channel. However, assessee failed to explain the unaccounted financial transactions. Thus, as tabulated in the assessment order at page 35 of the assessment order wherein it has been calculated that the assessee has received cash of Rs. 16,21,91,214/- from M/s Gokul Kripa Colonisers & Developers Pvt. Ltd. and failed to explain nature of receipt. Therefore, the receipt of Rs. 16,21,91,214 /- was treated as unexplained cash credits and additions of Rs 16,21,91,214/- u/s 68 of the Act read with section 115BBE of the Act. 6. Aggrieved from the order of Assessing Officer, assessee preferred an appeal before the ld. CIT(A). Apropos to the grounds so raised the relevant finding of the ld. CIT(A) is reiterated here in below: Ground Nos. 1, 2 & 3 5.2 I have considered the facts of the case and written submissions of the appellant as against the observations/findings of the ....
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....ng Officer is satisfied that books of account or documents or assets seized under section 132 or requisitioned under section 132A belong to a person other than a person in whose case search under section 132 or requisition under section 132A was made, he shall handover the same to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person and that Assessing Officer shall proceed against such other person under section 153A. Second proviso to section 153A provides that assessment or reassessment, if any, relating to any assessment year falling within the period of six assessment years referred to in the said section pending on the date of initiation of the search under section 132 or on the date of making of requisition under section 132A, as the case may be, shall abate. It is proposed to amend the said section so as to provide that in case of such other person, the reference to the date of initiation of the search under section 132 or making of requisition under section 132A in the second proviso to section 153A shall be construed as reference to the date of receiving the books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned by the Assessing Officer having....
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....ides for the abatement and reads as under.- "Provided further that assessment or reassessment, if any, relating to any assessment year falling within the period of six assessment years and for the relevant assessment year or years referred to in this sub-section pending on the date of initiation of the search under section 132 or making of requisition under section 132A, as the case may be, shall abate:" Thus the proviso below the sub-section (1) of section 153C pertains to or is for the purposes of abatement in view of the amendment by the Finance Act 2017. As per the CBDT Circular No 3 of 2006, on the title: FINANCE ACT, 2005 EXPLANATORY NOTES ON PROVISIONS RELATING TO DIRECT TAXES (OTHER THAN BANKING CASH TRANSACTION TAX AND FRINGE BENEFIT TAX,) the amendment is explained as under- "3.26 Rationalisation of the provisions relating to assessment of income in search and seizure cases - Under the existing provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 153B, an Assessing Officer is required to make an order of assessment or re-assessment of total income of the six assessment years preceding the assessment year relevant to the previous year ....
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....tion of search under section 132 or on the date of making of requisition under section 132A, shall abate. The existing section 153C has been renumbered as sub-section (1) of the said section. Further, a new proviso to subsection (1) of section 153C has been inserted providing that in the case of such other person, the reference to the date of initiation of search under section 132 or making of requisition under section 132A in the second proviso to section 153A, shall be construed as reference to the date of receiving the books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned by the Assessing Officer having the jurisdiction over such other person. A new sub-section (2) has been inserted in section 153C providing that in case of such other person for the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted under section 132 or requisition is made under section 132A, where (a) no return of income has been furnished by such person and no notice under sub-section (1) of section 142 has been issued to him, or (b) a return of income has been furnished by such person but no notice under sub-section (2) of section 143 has been served and the limitati....
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....tion (1) of section 139 in his case for such assessment year, and (b) before the date of receipt of seized or requisitioned books of account or documents or assets by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person- (i) no return of income has been furnished by such other person under subsection (1) of section 139 and no notice under sub-section (1) of section 142 has been issued to him for such assessment year, or (ii) a return of income has been furnished by such other person but no notice under sub-section (2) of section 143 for such assessment year has been served and the limitation of serving such notice has expired, or (iii) assessment or reassessment, if any, for such assessment year has been made. These amendments have been brought into effect retrospectively from 1st June, 2003." (emphasis supplied) As per the CBDT Gircular also, in case of section 163C of the Act, assessments of the preceding six years as pending on the date on which books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned are received by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person, shall abate In view of....
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....and is rendered as otiose. (iii) it is important to note that Honourable Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Income-tax -III v. Calcutta Knitwears [2014] 43 taxmann.com 446 (SC)/[2014] 223 Taxman 115 (SC) (MAG)/[2014] 362 ITR 673 (SC)/[2014] 267 CTR 105 (SC)[12-03-2014] has held that the satisfaction note for initiating action in case of person other than the searched person can be recorded (i.e. the proceedings can be initiated) even after the completion of assessment in the case of the person in whose case the said section had taken place Also in this regard is no adverse inference regarding the period of the block or the years covered under the block. The implication of the same is that extended time had already been provided for going back in time with reference to the actual date of search and seizure action. It has been held in the case of LKS Gold House (P.) Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax [2024] 161 taxmann.com 604 (Madras) [18-01-2024] as under:- 87. There is no time limit prescribed for the issuance of satisfaction note(s) under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. In terms of decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in ....
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....e AO of the other assessee in the month of April 2021 apparently in the case of the other person on the date of search would be treated as April 2021 going by the interpretation given by the appellant and in such a situation section 153C will not apply as per the interpretation of the appellant due to the sunset clause. This interpretation is against the ratio of judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Calcutta Knitwears (supra) as discussed in earlier paras. (v) the sunset clause has been provided in separate subsection (3) and it does not refer to any deeming date. This subsection refers to initiation of search action or requisition of books of accounts etc. on or after 01-04-2021. In the section there is a clear-cut reference to search initiated under section 132 or requisition under section 132A of the Act. Hence the concept of deemed date of search is not applicable to sub section (3). Thus, this subsection further adds to the above discussed amendment of 2017 regarding the crucial date of search for the purposes of applicability of section 153C of the Act. In case the deeming date of search is treated as the date of search for all purposes provided in subsection (1....
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....n 153C of the Act. It is important in the facts of the case that in the appellant submissions neither the appellant has submitted the copy of the satisfaction note nor the appellant has highlighted from the contents of the satisfaction note as to how the same is in violation of the section 153C of the Act. Conversely in the submissions in the appeal the appellant has made contradictory submissions. In the appellant submissions the appellant has stated that the satisfaction note was not received by the appellant. The submission is against the specific ground of appeal raised by the appellant and the new claim made in the appeal in this regard is beyond the scope of the ground of appeal raised by the appellant and also contradictory to the ground of appeal itself. The same cannot be entertained. It is also important to note that in the appellant submissions no prayer has been made requesting for the copy of the satisfaction note and a mere statement has been made. This shows that the appellant is not interested in getting the copy of the satisfaction note and this further supports the above discussion that the copy of satisfaction note is already available with the appellant....
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....onsidered in the facts of the case. When the facts of the case would demonstrate it, to be an undisputed position, that no real prejudice was caused to a party aggrieved by an order, being alleged to be breach of the principles of natural justice, the Court would certainly not interfere. Such complaint and/or a genuine grievance of the breach of principles of natural justice accompanied with the prejudice it would cause, is required to be made with utmost promptness. Any delay in making such complaint or raising a grievance would give rise to a position that such grievance is either not genuine or is belated and/or a technical plea being agitated. In Natwar Singh (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court while observing on the test of real prejudice, observed that there is no such thing as "technical infringement of natural justice", as what is necessarily to be seen is that there must have been caused some real prejudice to the complainant. It was observed that the requirements of natural justice must depend inter alia as involved in the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature of the inquiry, etc. (para 41 in case of Veena Estates (supra)) The relevant observations of the ....
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.... under various Tax Law or Appellate Authority and Tribunal under them. .............. 73. These provisions are relevant only for civil and criminal proceedings before the court of law. As far as Assessment proceedings are concemed, the Assessing Officers are not governed by the strict rules of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. 74. Therefore, the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sunder v. State, MANU/SC/0282/23 and in the case of P.V. Anwar v. P.K Basheer, 2014 AIR SCW 5695 cited are not relevant as they deal with criminal proceedings before the Court. 75, The Assessment proceedings under the Income Tax Act, 1961 before an Assessing Officer is not a judicial proceeding It is a Quasi judicial proceeding before a Quasi judicial officer. Therefore, the provisions of The Evidence Act, 1872 particularly special provisions relating to evidence relating to Section 65A, Section 65B and Section 66 are not relevant. 76. The decision of this court in the case of Vetrivel Madras v. ACIT, [2021] 129 taxmann.com 126/282 Taxman 321/437 ITR 178 (Madras) fails to note that Section 658 cannot be invoked in a quasi-judicial proceedings ....
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....ectronic form or in digital form. At the time when the search was completed on 10.11.2020 not only print outs of data stored in a floppy disk, tape, pen drive or any other form of electro-magnetic data storage device was included in the definition of "Books and Books of Accounts also other forms of storage implying that the information's stored in such form of electro-magnetic data search devices such as san disk, hard disk etc., already quantified as "Books and Books of Accounts". 82. The amended definition includes books of accounts in electronic form or in digital form or scanned copies of data or printouts of data stored in digital or electronic form. 83. Therefore, arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the Petitioner that there was a jurisdictional error in invoking Section 153C cannot be accepted and is rejected. (emphasis supplied) In the above judgement, inter-alia, it has been held that in this regard the provisions of Evidence Act are not applicable to the income tax proceedings and further that the amendment to the definition of "books and books of accounts" in clause (12A) to Section 2 of the IT Act, 1961 is clarificatory and theref....
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.... the case of Commissioner of Income-tax v. Md. Warasat Hussain [1987] 35 Taxman 227 (Patna)/[1988] 171 ITR 405 (Patna)/[1988] 67 CTR 75 (Patna) (10-09-1987] it was held by Hon'ble Patna High Court as under- "This was a matter with the special knowledge of the assessee. The Tribunal could not be expected to produce the sale deed. The learned counsel for the assessee submitted that even if the assessee did not produce the original sale deed, the revenue could have obtained certified copy of the sale deed from the registration office and disproved the stand of the assessee that the land had been sold really for a sum higher than Rs. 49.500. This does not lie in the mouth of the assessee. No Court or the Tribunal should countenance an assessed the the attitude of failure to produce relevant material and ask the adversary to disprove it. This attitude was decried by Chinnappa Reddy, J. in McDowell & Co. Ltd. v. CTO [1985] 154 ITR 148 (SC)." Further as referred in the assessment order, the appearing in the seized material ME TAX DEPARTME ference to the appellant is COMPLETE & FULL STATEMENT OF PARTIES IN WHOSE CASE SEARCH ACTION HAD TAKEN PLACE- The appella....
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.... the complete and full statement is required whereas the relevant part pertaining to the transaction of the appellant has been provided to the appellant. The objection of the appellant is mere technical and does not have any substantive substantive justifica justification. It is the principle of law as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that in accepting any plea of breach of principles of natural justice, such plea would be required to be tested on the aspect of prejudice, as observed in para 62 in case of Veena Estate (P.) Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax [2024] 158 taxmann.com 341 (Bombay)/[2024] 461 ITR 483 (Bombay) [11-01-2024]. It is abundantly clear from the principles of law as laid down by the Supreme Court as noted above, that a technical plea of breach of principles of natural justice cannot be taken, unless a case of prejudice has been made out, and if no case of prejudice is made out, certainly a plea of breach of principles of natural justice would be a hollow plea or a plea in futility. This for the reason, that a person complaining of breach of principles of natural justice needs to show that curing such breach, would culminate the procee....
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....se, the nature of the inquiry, the rules under which the tribunal is acting, the subject matter to be dealt with and so forth. Can the Courts supplement the statutory procedures with requirements over and above those specified? In order to ensure a fair hearing, Courts can insist and require additional steps as long a such steps would not frustrate the apparent purpose of the legislation." In the facts of the case, considering the totality of the legal jurisprudence on the issue and the conduct of the appellant, the appellant is not entitled to the complete and full statement of the persons in whose case the search action had taken place. CROSS EXAMINATION:- The appellant has also raise the contention that the cross examination of the persons in whose case the search action taken place was not provided to the appellant. Even though the appellant has made a statement in the submission that the cross examination were asked during the course of assessment proceedings however the appellant has not highlighted any paper book page or any particular submission dated before the assessing authority and as such the contention of the appellant is not verifiable and ....
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....he findings of the assessment order regarding the unaccounted income of the appellant The appellant has merely relied upon the preliminary documents like the registered value of the property etc. However the evidences with the assessing authority is over and above the preliminary documents The evidences and the findings on the basis of these evidenons with the assessing authority are that the appellant received unaccounted cash payment over and above the value declared in the registered sale document. Thus the evidences and the documents which are on record and only speaks of recorded and accounted findings of the assessing authority cannot be rebutted with the help of those transaction and does not speak of unaccounted transaction. It is held by the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in the case of Rameshwar Lal Mali v. Commissioner of Income-tax [2003] 132 Taxman 629 (Rajasthan)/[2002] 256 ITR 536 (Rajasthan)/[2002] 176 CTR 381 (Rajasthan) that "There is no provision for permitting a cross-examination of the person, whose statement is recorded during the survey and that if factors like "location of the shop, past history, various defects in the books of a....
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....the customs authorities. Accordingly, we hold that there is no force in the third contention of the appellant. There is no force in the second point because we do not read the impugned order as having wrongly placed the burden on the appellant. What the impugned order does is that it refers to the evidence on the record which militates against the version of the appellant and then states that the appellant had not been able to meet the inferences arising therefrom. In our opinion, the High Court was right in holding that the burden of proof had shifted on to the appellant after the Customs authorities had informed appellant of the results of the enquiries and he enquiries and investigations. The relevant extract of the judgement of Hon'ble ITAT in GTC Industries Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax [1998] 65 ITD 380 (Bombay) [28-02-1995 wherein judgements of Hon'ble Supreme Court and High Courts have also been considered is as under- "89. In the case of Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal (supra). It was held as under (at page 488): "Ends of justice are not satisfied only when the accused in a criminal case is acquitted. The Commun....
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....rd on which the charge is being made against him, the demands and the test of natural justice are satisfied. Cross-examination in that sense is not the technical cross-examination in a Court of law in the witness box." 91. In the case of Satellite Engg. Ltd. (supra). The jurisdictional High Court has held that: "It is true that the Department must disclose every information to the petitioner in which the Department intend to rely in the departmental proceedings. If the copies of the letters containing the price offered were handed over to the petitioner with a slip pasted on the name of the intended importer. From this material, it was for the petitioners to establish that the value quoted in these quotations was not the proper value and in case the Department is compelled to give the name or to produce such intending importers for cross-examination in departmental proceedings, it will well-nigh be impossible together any material in future. Therefore, it cannot be said that there was violation of natural justice specially when the name of the exporter sending the quotations was disclosed to the petitioner." 92. In the case of Kanungo & Co. (supra). It wa....
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.... cure all. If fairness is shown by the decision maker to the man proceeded against, the form, features and the fundamentals of such essential processual propriety being conditional by the facts and circumstances of such situation, no breach of natural justice can be complained of. Unnatural expansion of natural justice, without reference to the administrative realities and other factors of a given case, can be exasperating. We can neither be finical nor financial but should be flexible yet firm in this jurisdiction......" 95. Sri Desai submitted that the rules of natural justice are not rigid rules, they are flexible and their application depends upon the setting and background of statutory provision, nature of the right which may be effected and the consequences which may entail its application depends upon the facts and circumstances of each case. It was stressed that natural justice is mistress and not the master of justice. It is used to support the cause of justice. It can never be used to defeat the cause of justice. Sri Dastur pointed out that the Apex Court in K.T. Shaduli Grocery Dealer's case (supra) made it clear that cross-examination, if asked for....
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.... ".........the usual mode recognized by law for proving fact is by production of evidence and evidence includes oral evidence of witnesses. The opportunity to prove the correctness of completeness of the return would, therefore, necessarily carry with it the right to examine witnesses and that would include equally the right to cross-examine witnesses examined by the Sales-tax Officer. Here in the present case the return filed by the assessee appeared to the STO to be incorrect and incomplete because certain sales appearing in the books of Hazi Usmankutty and other wholesale dealers were not shown in the books of account of the assessee. The STO relied on the evidence furnished by the entries in the books of account of Hazi Usmankutty and other wholesale dealers for the purpose of coming to the conclusion that the return filed by the assessee was incorrect or incomplete. Placed in these circumstances, the assessee could prove the correctness and completeness of his return only by showing that the entries in the books of account of Hazi Usmankutty and other wholesale dealers were false, bogus or manipulated and that the return submitted by the assessee should not be disbelieved on ....
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....other case it may not. 100. In the case of Kishanchand Chellaram d Chellaram (supra), th (supra), the Apex Court was concerned with the evidence which was to be used against the assessee. This was in the form of letter from the Manger of a Bank through which money was remitted. This letter was not shown to the assessee. Therefore, evidence was held not to be admissible. It was held that opportunity to controvert should be given to the assessee. 101. In the case of Dr. Rash Lal Yadav (supra), it was held: "The concept of natural justice is not a static one but is an ever expanding concept. In the initial stages it was thought that it had only two elements, namely, (1) no one shall be a judge in his own cause, and (ii) no one shall be condemned unheard. With the passage of time a third element was introduced, namely of procedural reasonableness because the main objective of the requirement of rule of natural justice is to promote justice and prevent its miscarriage." 102. In the case of Mahendra Electricals Ltd. (supra), it was held that: "The opportunity to cross-examine the witness who has made adverse report should not be denied, to the....
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....quire formal cross-examination. Formal cross-examination is a part of procedural justice. It is governed by the rules of evidence, and is the creation of Court. It is part of legal and statutory justice, and not a part of natural justice, therefore, it cannot be laid down as a general proposition of law that the revenue cannot rely on any evidence which has not been subjected to cross-examination. However, if a witness has given directly incriminating statement and the addition in the assessment is based solely or mainly on the basis of such statement, in that eventuality it is incumbent on the Assessing Officer to allow cross-examination. Adverse evidence and material, relied upon in the order, to reach the finality, should be disclosed to the assessee. But this rule is not applicable where the material or evidence used is of Collateral Nature." (emphasis supplied) In the light of above decision it can be concluded that adverse evidence and material, relied upon in the order, to reach the finality, should be disclosed to the assessee. However the issue of cross examination is different. In this regard it is incumbent upon the assessee to have ra....
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....bay)[11-01-2024] It is abundantly clear from the principles of law as laid down by the Supreme Court as noted above, that a technical plea of breach of principles of natural justice cannot be taken, unless a case of prejudice has been made out and if no case of prejudice is made out, certainly a plea of breach of principles of natural justice would be a hollow plea or a plea in futility. This for the reason that a person complaining of breach of principles of natural justice needs to show that curing such breach, would culminate the proceedings with a different consequence favourable to the assessee. It is only after considering such pleas, it would be a fair decision, rendering justice to the complainant, as observed in para 62 in case of Veena Estates (supra). It is principle of law as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Natwar Singh v. Director of Enforcement [2010] 13 SCC 255, wherein the Supreme Court has observed that there can never be a technical plea of breach of principles of natural justice and plea would be a realistic plea which can be proved on the principle of prejudice. It is a settled principle of law that any breach of the prin....
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....cheque payment from the buyer is of no help as the issue at hand is regarding the unaccounted and undisclosed cash transaction. It was held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sumati Dayal v. Commissioner of Income-tax [1995] 80 Taxman 89 (SC)/(1995] 214 ITR 801 (SC)/[1995] 125 CTR 124 (SC)[28-03-1995] as under:- 13. This, in our opinion, is a superficial approach to the problem. The matter has to be considered in the light of human probabilities. The Chairman of the Settlement Commission has emphasised that the appellant did possess the winning ticket which was surrendered to the Race Club and in return a crossed cheque was obtained. It is, in our view, a neutral circumstance, because if the appellant had purchased and the the winning ticket after the event she would be having the winning ticket with her which she could surrender to the Race Club. The observation by the Chairman of the Settlement Commission that "fraudulent sale of winning ticket is not an usual practice but is very much of an unusual practice" ignores the prevalent malpractice that was noticed by the District Taxes Enquiry Committee recommendations made by the said Committee which le....
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....hat the evidences on record are false or incorrect and at the same time the known or the usual practice has not been followed by the appellant. However the appellant has squarely failed to discharge his onus. The transaction is between two parties where the appellant is the seller and the parties which maintained the data of unaccounted cash payment is the buyer. If the buyer has paid the unaccounted cash payment to seller that means the seller received the unaccounted / undisclosed cash. When the seller has received it that means the buyer has paid it. This is the position until or unless the same is rebutted with strong evidences by the seller appellant. Statement of the buyer and or the representative of the buyer is reliable evidence. In this regard reference is made to the judgement of Hon'ble M.P. High Court in the case of Vijay Jain v. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), Ujjain [2019] 107 taxmann.com 313 (Madhya Pradesh)/[2019] 265 Taxman 81 (Madhya Pradesh) (MAG)[22-03-2018] wherein it has been held as under Headnotes Section 69 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 Unexplained investment (Immovable property) - Assessment year 2006-07 Whether....
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....the basis of circumstances available on the record and that the genuineness of claim had to be considered in view of the surrounding circumstances and applying the test of human probabilities. [Sumati Dayal v. CIT [1995] 80 Taxman 89/214 ITR 801 (SC)] A party who relies on a recital in a deed has to establish the truth of those recitals, otherwise it will be very easy to make self-serving statements in documents either executed or taken by a party and rely on those recitals. If all that an assessee who wants to evade tax is to have some recitals made in a document either executed by him or executed in his favour then the door will be left wide open to evade tax. [Refer judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court in CIT v. Durga Prasad More [1971] 82 ITR 540] It is held by the Hon'ble ITAT in Sushil Kumar Mohnani vs. Income-tax Officer, Ward, Katni (M.P.) [2011] 9 taxmann.com 314 (Jabalpur) (TM) [01-06-2010] as under:- ....... It is observed that the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of SumatiDayal (supra) has held as under: in all cases in which a receipt is sought to be taxed as income, the burden lies upon the Department to prove that it is wit....
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....o, ignores the reality. The transaction about purchase of winning ticket takes place in secret and direct evidence about such purchase would be rarely available In our opinion, the majority opinion after considering surrounding circumstances and applying the test of human probabilities has rightly concluded that the appellant's claim about the amount being her winning from races is not genuine. It cannot be said that the explanation offered by the appellant in respect of the said amounts has been rejected unreasonably". We will be superficial in our approach in case we examine the claim of the assessee solely on the basis of documents filed by the assessee and overlook clear the unusual pattern in the documents filed by the assessee and pretend to be oblivious of the ground realities. As Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed, in the case of Durga Prasad More (supra ........... "it is true that an apparent must be considered real until it is shown that there are reasons to believe that the apparent is not the real party who relies on a recital in a deed has to establish the truth of those recitals, otherwise it will be very easy to make self-serving statements in documents eith....
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....original sale deed, the revenue could have obtained certified copy of the sale deed from the registration office and disproved the stand of the assessee that the land had been sold really for a sum higher than Rs. 49,500. This does not lie in the mouth of the assessee. No Court or the Tribunal should countenance an assessee the attitude of failure to produce relevant material and ask the adversary to disprove it. This attitude was decried by Chinnappa Reddy, J. in McDowell & Co. Ltd. v. CTO [1985] 154 ITR 148 (SC). It is held by the Hon'ble ITAT in the case of Khopade Kisanrao Manikrao v. Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax [2000] 74 ITD 25 (Pune) (TM)/[2000] 69 TTJ 135 (Pune) (TM) [27-01-2000] as under- 134. Having held that the seized record is not the complete record of unaccounted transactions, the question which arises is whether these facts justify the estimation of undisclosed income. It is well settled law that what is apparent is the real state of affairs and the onus to prove that apparent was not real is on the party who claims it to be so. Reference can be made to the Supreme Court decision in the case of CIT v. Daulat Ram Rawatmull [1973] 87 ITR ....
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....e having great disparity. No doubt, there may be certain variations on account of mitigating circumstances, which have to be proved by the assessee. Perusal of the record shows that there is a great disparity in the prices of plots in respect of transactions where seized material is available and for transactions where no record is available even though such transactions are made within the short period/interval. This can be proved by some examples. In Survey No. 46, the assessee had sold 5 plots in assessment year 1989-90 at the rate of Rs. 5 per sq.ft. as per sale agreement/deed. While as per the seized record, it has been found that assessee had charged excess amounts in respect of 4 plots. It has also been found that excess money is considerably very high as compared to the price shown in the documents. For instance, the excess money for plot Nos. 7, 8 and 51 were Rs. 12,555 Rs. 15,348 and Rs. 18,533 respectively as against agreed price of Rs. 8,910 Rs. 9,405 and Rs. 8,745 respectively. Similarly, in Survey No. 18 assessee had sold half of the plot No. 71 to Shri Prakash Nigam and other half of the plot to Shri Ramesh Patil on the same date of 17th February, 1992 at ap....
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....en sold in a range of Rs. 144 to Rs. 177 within a year, nobody knows the potential and credentials of QSIL. A logical question arises why the share price of a company whose potential, credential, activities are neither known nor reported will increase about more than 70 times in one year. These shares are neither quoted nor listed at the time of purchase by the assessee consideration changed hands without furnishing details about the distinctive numbers of transfer of shares, etc. Under these circumstances, QSIL shares attaining a very high market value itself becomes mysterious, which is thickened by the fact that there is no corroborative factor for increase in valuation. The hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sumati Dayal [1995] 214 ITR 801 signifies that what is apparent must be examined on the touchstone of surrounding circumstances and human probabilities. Merely because a paper trail is created will not by itself make the transaction genuine In this case, companies to whom QSIL shares were sold could not be traced ultimately. Learned counsel contends that their bank accounts suggest that the entities existed, in our view, the opening of a bank account by itself does no....
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.... to the judgement of The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Canara Bank and Others v. Debasis Das and Others reported in (2003) 4 SCC 557 where Hon'ble Supreme Court has held as under: *21. How then have the principles of natural justice been interpreted in the courts and within what limits are they to be confined? Over the years by a process of judicial interpretation two rules have been evolved as representing the principles of natural justice in judicial process, including therein quasi judicial and administrative process. They constitute the basic elements of a fair hearing, having their roots in the innate sense of man for fair play and justice, which is not the preserve of any particular race or country but is shared in common by all men. The first rule is "nemo judex in causa site of nemo debet esse judex in propria causa sua os stated in Earl of Derby's caso ((1605) 12 Co Rep 114 77 ER 1390) that is, "no man shall be a judge in his own cattse Coke used the form aliquis non debet esse judex in propria causa, quia non potest esse judex el pars (Ca Lid 1418) that is no man ought to be a judge in his own caso, because he cannol act as judge and a....
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....n-compliance of statutory provisions or in not giving effect to the maxim audi alteram partem, the proceedings do not come to an end. All that is done is that the order assailed by virtue of its inherent defects is vacated but the proceedings are not terminated They will stand restored to the stage before the order was passed. This position is well-settled in law 24. In Vishwanath Prasad Bhagwati Prasad v. CIT (1993) 202 ITR 469 (All), the assessment was completed without taking recourse to section 144B when admittedly that section was attracted on the facts of that case. Two questions were raised for consideration of this Court Firstly, whether non-compliance of section 144B was only a procedural lapse and secondly, whether the Tribunal was justified in upholding the order of the Tribunal in restoring the assessment to the ITO with directions to consider the matter afresh from the stage where the irregularity intervened. Both the questions were answered in the affirmative. It was pointed out that section 144B merely sets out specific procedure to be followed in the cases where the ITO proposed to make any variation in the income or loss shown by the assessee, which is mor....
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....left open. All that is done is to vacate the order assailed by virtue of its inherent defect, but the proceedings are not terminated. (Canara Bank and Others (supra)). Further, an appellate authority has the jurisdiction as well as the duty to correct all errors in the proceedings under appeals and to issue, if necessary, appropriate directions to the authority against whose decision the appeal is preferred to dispose of the whole or any part of the matter afresh unless forbidden from doing so by the statute. (Kapurchand Shrimal (supra)). The act of providing the copy of statement or cross examination to the appellant is a procedural act and any defect in the same does not render the whole proceedings as null and void. It was upheld in Vishwanath Prasad Bhagwati Prasad v. CIT [1993] 202 ITR 469 (All.), Tribunal in restoring the assessment to the ITO with directions to consider the matter afresh from the stage where the irregularity intervened, and was relied upon in Bhagwat Prasad (supra). In view of the above detailed discussion this ground of appeal of the appellant is hereby dismissed. Ground Nos. 7,8 & 10 10.2 I have considered the facts of the case a....
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.... of the HUF had expired the HUF still continues. Further that the then Karta did not inform the other members about the transactions is a self-serving baseless statement and against the principles of probability as he must have informed and discussed this issue with his family members, including the spouse. In view of this discussion this ground of appeal is hereby dismissed. The appellant has also contended in ground no. 10 that the learned AO erred in giving a finding that excel sheet entries are suppressed by placing decimal before the last two digits. The appellant has not made any submissions in this regard. Hence this ground is to be treated as not pressed. Even otherwise the issue has been discussed in detail in the assessment order and the appellant has raised the issue on the ground of appeal without any cogent arguments and evidences. The underlying findings of the assessment order have not been disputed in this regard and only the conclusion drawn has been challenged. In view of this discussion this ground of appeal is hereby dismissed. Ground No. 9 11.2 I have considered the facts of the case and written submissions of the appellant as against....
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..... In a similar case of assessment u/s 153C of the Act, it has been held by the Hon'ble ITAT Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax vs. T.G. Chandrakumar [2023] 152 taxmann.com 623 (Cochin - Trib.) [03-04-2023] as under:- Headnote:- Section 45, read with section 2(14) and 2(47), of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Capital gains - Chargeable as (Land dealings) - Assessment year 2008-09 - A search was conducted by revenue in group cases of Dr. AM and S Group of medical stores and connected cases An agreement for sale of land was found and seized from residence of Dr. RA between AM and LG of one part (as buyers) and assessee, and 4 others of second part (as sellers) - Sale consideration mentioned in agreement was higher than registered sale deeds executed subsequently - Assessing Officer initiated an assessment under section 153C and brought to tax income in respect of a portion of land Assessing Officer assessed capital gains in hands of assessee and protectively in hands of other sellers, claiming they were benamidars of assessee However, it was found that assessee was owner of land, executor of its sale, and beneficiary of sale proceeds and other sellers were pup....
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....rifying the controversy which sometimes arise in a situation when the seized material is transferred to the AO having jurisdiction over "other person". This sub section says that where any books of account etc., have been delivered to the requisitioning officer then the provisions of sub-section 1 of section 292C shall apply that as if such books of account etc. which has been taken into custody from the person searched, as the case may be, had been found in possession or control of "that person" (in whose case material requisitioned) in the course of a search u/s. 132. Our humble interpretation of this sub section is that where any seized material is transferred or handed over to the AO having jurisdiction over such other person then that seized material shall be treated as if such material was found in possession or control of "such other person". Hence, a conclusion can be drawn that in spite of anything contained in any of the provisions of the Act where the AO is satisfied that the seized material recovered at the time of search from the possession of the person searched but is required to be proceeded against "other person", then at the time when the seized material is handed....
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....y done and as per the seized material that a payment of the unaccounted cash was being done even after the registry, such practices against the principles of probability. However this contention of the appellant is mere suggestive and is not in evidence in itself. But that when looked and examined in the context of the evidences on record in terms of the seized material and the search statements, this contention of the appellant is found to be of no use and help to the appellant. Even otherwise that terms and conditions of any transaction specially the unaccounted transaction depends largely on the unwritten understanding and trust of the parties. Further, there is no likelihood or very less likelihood of finding of material in this regard from the search action of the buyer as the buyer had already bought the property registered and any paper or understanding agreement if any in this regard would be available with the appellant only where no search and seizure action took place. Further it is a matter of common knowledge and settled law that unaccounted transactions take place in secrecy and verifiable record of such transactions is hardly available. 14.2 I have considere....
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....ger accounts for mala fide reasons that (i) To inflate the expenses., (ii) To deceive each other., (iii) To convince buyers about the exaggerated cost of acquiring land so that they could fetch higher sale money from the buyers of their projects. The appellant has merely given hypothetical baseless possibilities and put allegations on the buyer. However such hypothetical baseless contentions are of no help to the appellant. The contentions are mere theoretical and not bona-fide is also proved from the fact that no FIR and/or criminal case in court has been filed by the appellant in this regard. In view of this discussion theses ground of appeal are hereby dismissed. Ground Nos. 16 & 18 15.2 I have considered the facts of the case and written submissions of the order for the year under consideration. The contentions/submissions of the appellant as against the observations/findings of the AO in the assessment appellant are being discussed and decided as under:- The appellant has contended that section 68 is not applicable to his case as the addition is not based on credit entry in the books of accounts if any maintained by the appellant. T....
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....thing to support the ground of appeal. The same is treated as not pressed. Therefore, this ground of appeal is dismissed. Ground No. 20. That Section 50C of the Act provides for curbing of the undervaluation of real state and therefore, no property can be sold for less than the amount determined by the stamp valuation authority. In the present case, the sale deed was executed after the valuation was calculated by stamp valuation authority and thus, the same cannot be disputed or controverted by the Respondents Department. 18.1 The appellant/AR did not make submission on the Ground of Appeal No. 20. The same is treated as not pressed. Further the issue of applicability of section 50C is not emanating from the assessment order under appeal. Therefore, this ground of appeal is dismissed. 19 Ground of Appeal No. 21 is as under: C) Sections Involved - 234A, 234B and 234C of the Income Tax Act Issue involved - Charging of interest. Ground No. 21: That the learned A.O has 234A, 234B and 2340 of the Act charging interest u/s 234A, 234B and 234C of the Act. 19.1 In this ground, the appellant has raised issue in respect of charging of int....
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....ands from the Assessee Appellant along with other family members. V. The details of such alleged cash payments are appearing at pages 4 to 14 of the order of the ld. AO. It is alleged that the total cash payments, emerging from above digital data, in all, amounted to Rs. 56,31,38,250/- made to all the family members towards all the sale transactions spanning over the following 3 financial years (ld. AO Pages 34) F.Y. Cash received in Rs. FY 15-16 26,79,94,750 FY 16-17 24,39,64,500 FY 17-18 5,11,79,000 Total 56,31,38,250 VI. Ld. AO apportioned the alleged on-money paid in cash in proportion to cheque amount received by individual seller and, thereafter, said amount was further bifurcated into three financial years. The said workings are appearing at page 35 of the order of the ld. AO and are reproduced below for quick reference: S.No(i) Name of the assessee(ii) Amount received through cheque(iii) Total amount received in cash (iv) Prop. Amount received in cash in ratio of amount received in cheque(iii*iv/vi) 1 AnshuSahay HUF 25,84,80,000 56,31,38,250 37,43,82,651 2 Dr.MadhuriSahay 1,41,60,000 2....
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....153C are barred by limitation as they have been taken for period beyond 6 years prior to the deemed date of search and the order passed deserves to be cancelled. In view of the above, the entire assessment order deserves to be quashed as it is passed illegally without proper jurisdiction. GROUND NO. 2: Order passed without proper approval under section 153 D 2.1. All the seven Assessment Years i.e. A.Y. 2015-16, A.Y. 2016-17, A.Y. 2017-18, A.Y. 2018-19, A.Y. 2019-20, A.Y. 2020-21, A.Y. 2021-22 were approved in just one day. The draft assessment orders by ld. AO were sent, for approval, on 22.03.2024 and all the seven assessment orders were approved on 23.03.2024 [PB 188- 195]. 2.2. The prime object of entrusting the duty of approval of assessment in search cases is that the Additional CIT, with his experience and maturity of understanding should scrutinize the seized documents and any other material forming the foundation of assessment. Whenever any statutory obligation is casted upon any statutory authority such authority is required to discharge its obligation not mechanically, but after due application of mind. Thus, the obligation of....
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....(SC) wherein the department's SLP was dismissed. Hon'ble Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case of CIT v. S. Goyanka Lime & Chemical Ltd. [2015] 56 taxmann.com 390 (MP) has held as under: "..7. We have considered the rival contentions and we find that while according sanction, the Joint Commissioner, Income Tax has only recorded so "Yes, I am satisfied". In the case of Arjun Singh (supra), the same question has been considered by a Coordinate Bench of this Court and the following principles are laid down:- 'The Commissioner acted, of course, mechanically in order to discharge his statutory obligation properly in the matter of recording sanction as he merely wrote on the format "Yes, I am satisfied" which indicates as if he was to sign only on the dotted line. Even otherwise also, the exercise is shown to have been performed in less than 24 hours of time which also goes to indicate that the Commissioner did not apply his mind at all while granting sanction. The satisfaction has to be with objectivity on objective material.' 8. If the case in hand is analysed on the basis of the aforesaid principle, the mechanical way of recording satisfacti....
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....ach of the ld. AO clearly establishes the fallacy in the action of the ld. AO. 3.2.5. It is submitted that, nowhere in the names of the recipients of the onmoney, name of assessee appellant is appearing. It is submitted that neither during the course of search nor during post search, the recipients were ever confronted by the Department to find out the truth in this regard. It was the legal responsibility of the search team to conduct complete inquiry in this regard so as to surface the truth. 3.2.6. In the digital data the name of the assessee appellant is appearing only at 3 places i.e. Serial Nos. 149, 164 and 166 (AO Pages 12 and 13). Whenever any payment was made to Anshu Sahai HUF, specific mention of it is there. Therefore, without specific mention of Anshu Sahai HUF, no cash payment can be imputed to have been made to assessee appellant i.e. Anshu Sahai HUF. 3.2.7. It is submitted that during the course of assessment proceedings, the assessee appellant clearly denied having received any payment in cash. 3.2.8. It is most humbly submitted that the said Excel Sheet data is absolutely uncorroborated. There is no underlying evidence ....
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....d during the course of search on 19.01.2021. 3.2.13.iii. Ld. AO has not recorded any satisfaction in his order that all the requisite steps were taken by him to ensure that the data output of the PEN Drives/Computer records, seized during the search on Gokul Kripa Group were analysed on "as is" basis and there is no risk of it being tempered by anyone. 3.2.14 It is submitted that for the sale of the lands, duly registered sale deeds were executed between the assessee and buyer. The act of the ld. AO, of treating additional amount as being paid for the sale of the property over and above what was specified in the registered sale deed merely based on unrelated digital evidence is against the law laid down in Section 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act, 1872. 3.2.15 During the course of assessment proceedings, specific request was made for providing opportunity of cross examination of the directors of the Gokul Kripa Group. Ld. AO, for the reasons best known to him, did not provide any such opportunity. It is submitted that there is no corroborative evidence to prove the payments and, therefore, cross examination became vital. No addition can be made without provi....
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.... the statements against the appellant that the appellant received the unaccounted cash payment on the sale of the property and the appellant has not produced any positive evidence to counter such evidences which show that transaction over and above the transaction value recorded in the property registered document. The appellant has merely denied in general and has raised technical issues." 3.4. It was submitted before ld. CIT(A) that no prudent seller would keep the cash payment pending after the sale deed having registered. The gap, it was submitted, was about 19 months. Ld. CIT(A) has accepted this aspect when he has admitted that when registry of the property had been done there was no requirement to maintain such evidences regarding the payment for unaccounted transactions. In spite of this ld. CIT(A) has dismissed the appeal by placing reliance on the alleged digital data. 3.5. The Assessee Appellant also contended that the seized material was in the nature of dumb document which would not possess any stand-alone evidentiary value since it did not contain the complete particulars of the relevant transactions and the persons involved in the said transactions.....
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.... with whom the appellant carried out the direction nor the appellant has produced any other positive evidence apart from the copy of the registry deed which is already found to be incorrect in view of the seized material...." (Page 71) 3.8. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of K.P Varghese Vs. ITO (131 ITR 597) held that the onus of establishing that the conditions of taxability were fulfilled would always be on the revenue and throwing the burden of showing that there was no understatement of consideration on the assessee would be to cast an almost impossible burden upon him to establish the negative, namely, that he did not receive any consideration beyond what has been declared by him. Thus, the burden would be on revenue to adduce proper evidence to corroborate the contents of the seized material for the purpose of establishing that the assessee was, in fact, in receipt of the payments as noted in the seized material. Discharge of reverse burden is not expected from the assessee. 3.9. The prime question that would arise would be that whether such entries found in the material seized from a third-party could be used to draw adverse inference against the ass....
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....nd then no democracy can survive in case investigations are lightly set in motion against important constitutional functionaries on the basis of fictitious entries, in absence of cogent and admissible material on record, lest liberty of an individual be compromised unnecessarily." 3.12. The aforesaid decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court stresses the need for exercising caution and for bringing on record relevant, reliable and cogent evidence to corroborate the entries found in loose sheets or pen drives regarding the payments allegedly made so that the process of law is not abused by unscrupulous persons in order to achieve ulterior goals. Therefore, it was important that the corroborative evidence was available on record in support of the entries in the seized material found in the premises of a thirdparty not written in the handwriting of the alleged receiver. 3.13. The Mumbai Tribunal in the case of Riveria Properties Private Limited v. ITO (ITA No.250/Mum/2013) held that Ld. AO was required to bring further evidence to show that the money had actually exchanged between the parties in a case where there was no other evidence on record to prove that on-money wa....
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.... 3.17. ii. The fact that no such communication has been discovered between the Assessee Appellant and Gokul Kripa Group regarding cash payments strongly proves that no such transaction took place. 3.17. iii. If such an agreement truly existed, there would be some form of evidence in the form of WhatsApp chats, emails or SMS records exchanged between the buyer and seller, detailing the terms and timing of cash payments. The complete absence of any such evidence renders the claim highly speculative and unreliable. 3.18. Similarly, as per the decisions of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the cases of CBI v. VC Shukla & Others (1998) 3 SCC 410 and Dhakeshwari Cotton MiIIs (26 ITR 775), corroborative evidence would be essential to support the evidence found in third-party premises. 3.19. Excel sheet being dumb Document cannot be the sole basis for addition: The Excel Sheet relied upon by the Id. AO in the assessment has no evidentiary Value on account of the following reasons: 3.19. i. The document relied upon is merely an Excel sheet, which lacks any formal acknowledgment, signature, date or identifiable origin. 3.19. ii. It is neith....
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....lotting project on the said land. Without independent verification, the figures mentioned in the sheet remain speculative and unreliable. 3.23. The buyer of the land, in his self-interest and to set off the on money which he had received from sale of plots, might have created this document. This aspect is evident from the admission of the buyer which is forming part of the questionnaire dated 18.12.2023 issued by the ld. AO attached to the notice u/s 142(1). Relevant extract is reproduced below: "2. Gokul Kripa Group has made payments in cash out of books while purchasing the land for its projects. c) This fact has also been admitted by the members of the assessee group and the cash payments made to purchase land from various sellers of land was claimed to be out of cash receipts from sales of plots. The assessee including his family members {Shri Anshu Sahay(Individual) and Ms. Madhuri Sahay} have also sold their land to the assessee group." 3.24. The alleged incriminating material is an internal document of the Gokul Kripa Group and merely the name of the Assessee Appellant is mentioned on it without any documentary evidence against the Assesse....
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....e [2017] 190 TTJ 681 (Mumbai) "64. It was submitted that Hon'ble Bombay High Court in the case of CIT v. Lavanya Land (P) Ltd. (2017) 297 CTR 204(Bom.) (HC) held that if the entries on loose sheet of paper, found during search, are not corroborated by any other evidence, no addition can be made. Similarly, in another case of Aarti Colonizers Company, certain incriminating material in the form of data stored in electronic medium was found in search conducted on the partners of the assessee firm. On the basis of such electronic evidences, additions were made in the hands of the assessee firm. Such additions were subsequently deleted by the Raipur Bench of the Tribunal (ITA No. 178 to180/RPR/2014 dated 01.07.2019) and it was observed by the Tribunal that no material was found to show that the amount contained in the data was paid by the assessee firm at any point of time. Resultantly, in the absence of any corroborative evidences no addition can be made. 84. We find that similar view has been taken by the Coordinate Mumbai Benches in case of Anil Jaggi vs ACIT (supra). In that case, payment of on- money by assessee, Anil Jaggi, was noticed in the course of search in ....
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....wever, the same would not conclusively prove suppression of investment and payment of "on money" by the assessee for purchase of the property under consideration. We find that the information as emerges from the print out of the pen drive falls short of certain material facts, viz. date and mode of receipt of 'on money', who had paid the money, to whom the money was paid, date of agreement and who had prepared the details, as a result whereof the adverse inferences as regards payment of "on money" by the assessee for purchase of the property under consideration remain uncorroborated. We further find that what was the source from where the information was received in the pen drive also remains a mystery till date. We find that Sh. Niranjan Hiranandani in the course of his cross-examination had clearly stated that neither he was aware of the person who had made the entry in the pen drive, nor had with him any evidence that the assessee had paid any cash towards purchase of flat. We have deliberated on the fact that Sh. Niranjan Hiranandani in his statement recorded on oath in the course of the Search & seizure proceedings had confirmed that the amounts aggregating to....
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....e cannot be sustained. We thus are unable to subscribe to the view of the lower authorities and set aside the order of the CIT (A) sustaining the addition of Rs. 2.23 crores in the hands of the assessee." 86. In this regard, we find that under similar fact pattern, Coordinate Benches of the Tribunal have taken a similar view and reference can be drawn to decision of the Coordinate Mumbai Benches in case of Katrina Rosemary Turcotte (supra). In this case, on the basis of a print out taken from the computer back-up of Ms. Sandhya Ramchandra, assessee's manager and assessee's agent Matrix India, it was concluded by the Assessing Officer that the assessee has received an amount of Rs. 2,50,000 in cash for appearing as a host at an ICC event in Sidney. The Coordinate Bench deleted the additions holding that the addition was made on the basis of a print out taken from the computer of a third party who happened to be an employee of Matrix and there are no other corroborative evidence brought on record to prove the fact that the payment mentioned in the seized material was actually received by the assessee and relevant findings read as under: "8. We have heard rival conte....
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....al entry dt. 4-9-2007 taken from the tally data in the pen drive found during the course of search and the printout of the details of land which has been reproduced by the assessing officer and other than these two materials, since no evidence has been brought on record by the Assessing officer and since nothing was found during search establishing any investment/payment made by the assessee, the two evidences relied upon by the Assessing officer, on a standalone basis cannot form the basis for invoking section 69. Therefore, it was held that provisions section 69 are not attracted as neither the Assessing officer discharged the initial burden cast upon him to prove investment nor any material has been brought on record to this effect and additions were held to be rightly deleted by the ld CIT(A) and the relevant findings of the Coordinate Bench read as under: 8. The learned counsel of the assessee submitted before us that in assessment year 2008-09, addition of Rs. 10,06,43,054 comprises of two additions, one of Rs. 7,32,98,821 and the other of Rs. 2,73,44,233. The facts relating to both the additions are different and therefore both these additions need to be adjudicated....
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....nt/payment by the assessee. As rightly contended by the learned Authorised Representative of the assessee, that the details given in the chart are not evidence of any payment/investment. Since no evidence has been brought on record by the assessing officer and since nothing was found during search establishing any investment/payment made by the assessee, the two evidences relied upon by the assessing officer, on a standalone basis, in our considered view, cannot form basis for invoking section 69. Therefore, we hold that provisions section 69 are not attracted as neither the assessing officer discharged the initial burden cast upon him to prove investment nor any material has been brought on record to this effect. 8.1 A perusal of the journal entry dt. 4-9-2007, which has been one of the basis for addition, shows that through this journal entry, the lands was purchased by the two persons named in the journal entry and was being introduced as their capital contribution in the partnership firm. Since, these journal entries have been relied upon by the assessing officer. Thus, it has remained undisputed that the lands were not purchased by the assessee but by the two persons ....
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....d as income or not under section 69 has to be considered in the light of the facts of each case. In that case, the Tribunal held that the discretion had not been properly exercised by the Income Tax Officer and the AAC in taking into account the circumstances in which the assessee was placed. Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that it did not find any error in the said finding recorded by the Tribunal. In Smt. Rajabai B Kadam v. Asstt. CIT (supra) it was found that the assessee, who was a minor, was found carrying cash of Rs. 1,18,500 by the police Department. The assessee thereafter died. In pursuance to the reassessment notice, his mother filed return declaring nil income and she could not explain the money which was recovered from her minor son. Co-ordinate Bench held that there is no material on record to suggest that the minor could earn said money just within a period of 2 months after leaving his school. It was in these facts and circumstances that the addition was held to be not justified, relying upon the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Smt. P.K. Noorjahan (supra). If we apply he ratio of aforesaid two decisions to the facts of the present case, we find that w....
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.... details supporting the entries in the printout were found during search or brought on record during the assessment proceedings. It is not also the case of assessing officer that any other details in respect of different lands like details of payment to the persons etc. were found during search. Although it is stated that tally data was found in the pen drive, corresponding books of accounts in such tally data were not found as there is no reference of any such corroborative books in the assessment order. We agree with the argument of learned Authorised Representative of the assessee that if any unaccounted investment was made in respect of so many lands, from so many persons that too spread over a period of three years, some other corroborative material like account of the parties, details of individual payments etc. must also have been maintained and found during search and in absence of any such corroborative material, the contents of the pen drive/chart does not inspire confidence. It is also worth noting that there is no finding of fact recorded by the assessing officer about any unaccounted assets or unaccounted expenses or excess cash found during search. Considering all the....
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....to one Shri Vijay Kumar Motwani through registered sale deed, copy whereof has been placed at page Nos. 161 to 176 of paper book; that likewise, some entries were found in the pen drive which mentions that the payments were made through Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India, Pandri Tarai Branch while the assessee explained that nobody in the group of assessee had any account in any branch of Bank of Baroda and that the cheque number in respect of payment made through State Bank of India did not relate to any bank account held by the concerned person in that bank and similarly other many discrepancies were pointed out before the assessing officer. All these explanations were rejected by the assessing officer without giving any reason whatsoever. However, for rejecting the explanation of assessee, it was incumbent upon the assessing officer to have given detailed reasons for not accepting the same and in absence of any reason given, we do not approve the action of the assessing officer." 3.29. Ld. CIT(A), while dismissing the appeal, has observed as under at page 65 of his Order: "Further the conduct & absence of confirmation etc. from buyer suggests that the buyer....
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....without further proof or production of the original, as evidence of any contents of the original or of any fact stated therein of which direct evidence would be admissible. (2) The conditions referred to in sub-section (1) in respect of a computer output shall be the following, namely :- (a) the computer output containing the information was produced by the computer during the period over which the computer was used regularly to store or process information for the purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period by the person having lawful control over the use of the computer; (b) during the said period, information of the kind contained in the electronic record or of the kind from which the information so contained is derived was regularly fed into the computer in the ordinary course of the said activities; (c) throughout the material part of the said period, the computer was operating properly or, if not, then in respect of any period in which it was not operating properly or was out of operation during that part of the period, was not such as to affect the electronic record or the accuracy of its contents; and (d)the informati....
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....iner of electronic evidence. The Evidence Act does not contemplate or permit the proof of an electronic record by oral evidence if requirements Under Section 65B of the Evidence Act are not complied with, as the law now stands in India. " d. Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the case of Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal and Ors., in Civil Appeal Nos. 20825-20826 of 2017, 2407 and 3696 of 2018, vide its order dated 14.07.2020, confirmed its earlier view in the case of Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer (supra) apropos admissibility of electronic recorded as evidence. Hon'ble Apex Court held that: * A certificate under Section 65B(4) of the Evidence Act, 1872 is mandatory, and a condition precedent to the admissibility of evidence by way of electronic record. * The non-obstante language of Section 65B(1) makes it clear that when it comes to information contained in an electronic record, admissibility and proof thereof must follow the drill of Section 65B, which is a special provision in this behalf. * Requirement under Section 65B(4) is not necessary if the original computer/laptop etc in which the data/information, relied upon, itself is prod....
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....ome tax Act, but the general principles of evidence are applicable to income-tax proceedings. 3.30. iv. Ld. AO has not recorded any satisfaction in the order that all the requisite steps were taken by her to ensure that the data output of the PEN Drives/Computer records, seized during the search on Gokul Kripa Group, were analyzed on "as is" basis and there is no risk of it being tempered by anyone. 3.31. In view of the facts discussed above along with the judicial pronouncements in this regard it was incumbent upon the ld. AO to provide cross examination before using the un-confronted statement against the Assessee Appellant as evidence. Specific request for cross examination was made before ld. AO [PB 153, 180]. Ld. CIT(A) has wrongly observed at page 36 of his Order that no such request made to ld. AO was brought to his notice. Hence, in absence of cross examination the statements relied upon by the ld. AO do not qualify as an evidence which could be used against Assessee Appellant. Reliance is placed on the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Andaman Timber Industries (CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4228 of 2006) wherein it was held that "...not allowing the as....
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....here remains no reason for upholding the invoking of the provisions of section 115BBE. In view of the above, the invoking of the provisions of section 115BBE may please be quashed. 8. To support the contention so raised in the written submission reliance was placed on the following evidence, records and decisions: S. No. Particulars Page No. 1. Copy of Sale Deed dated 05.11.2015 amounting to Rs. 1,41,60,000/- 1-12 2. Copy of Sale Deed dated 05.11.2015 amounting to Rs. 6,69,60,000/- 13-26 3. Copy of Sale Deed dated 04.01.2016 amounting to Rs. 9,69,60,000/- 27-40 4. Copy of Sale Deed dated 03.08.2016 amounting to Rs. 1,10,40,000/- 41-62 5. Copy of Sale Deed dated 03.08.2016 amounting to Rs. 10,63,20,000/- 63-73 6. Copy of Sale Deed dated 06.06.2016 amounting to Rs. 98,40,000/- 74-83 7. Copy of Sale Deed dated 06.06.2016 amounting to Rs. 8,35,20,000/- 84-115 8. Written Submissions dated 26.12.2024 before ld. CIT(A) for A.Y. 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 116-125 9. Written Submissions dated 06.01.2025 before the ld. CIT(A) for A.Y. 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 i. Submissions before the ....
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....d wherein this alleged records have been found as recorded in the computer cannot be relied upon without having in possession of any incriminating documents for the payment of cash to the assessee. The ld. AO made the estimation while making the addition in the hands of the assessee and that too without placing any concreate evidence of exact amount paid to the assessee. Assessee is a seller, and it was as recorded that four different person were paying to the assessee is also nothing but guess work and for that also no corroborative evidence from the possession of four different payer of the alleged cash to the assessee. There is no direct evidence as to receipt of the alleged payment in cash by the assessee, merely the same is written in the excel sheet the payment that is recorded after the date of document is nothing but the unexplained expenditure on the said land by that Gokul Krupa Group and not by the assessee. It is hardly a common sense that a purchaser of the property gives payment to the seller after the final sale deed is executed and possession were given to the purchaser of the property. The ld. AO noted that the cash payment was received by the assessee over period ....
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....roborated by any other evidence, no addition can be made. Here also there was not corroborative evidence were placed on record and that too after the sale document it has been alleged to have paid cash to the assessee by the purchaser of the property. Even the digital data relied upon were not supported by the required certification by the revenue. As regards the judgement relied upon by the revenue the ld. AR of the assessee has filed a detailed distinguishing note on all the judgement relied upon by the revenue. 10. The ld. DR is heard who relied on the findings of the lower authorities and more particularly advanced the similar contentions as stated in the order of the ld. CIT(A). The ld. DR also filed a case law compilation in support of the contention so raised the list of case law relied upon are as under ; Compilation of Case Law(s) S.No. Particulars Page no. 1. [1995] 80 Taxman 89 (SC)/[1995] 214 ITR 801 (SC)/[1995] 125 CTR 124 (SC)[28-03- 1995] [1995] 80 Taxman 89 (SC) SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Sumati Dayal v. Commissioner of Income-tax* S.C. AGRAWAL, SUJATA V. MANOHAR AND B.L. HANSARIA, JJ. CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 1344-45 OF 1977 MARCH 28, 1995 1-5 2. ....
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....the part of the assessee and the same cannot be a basis for not relying on the data collected and received by the Assessing Officer which forms part of the assessment records. The ld. DR referring to the details mentioned in the table given in page 3 of the assessment submitted that the assessee has sold the land to the person searched for the group entity and thereby in that process evidence of having been paid to the assessee was recorded in excel sheet found. While search incriminating documents relating to the assessee were found and seized. It was found that assessee has entered unaccounted financial transaction with M/s Gokul Kripa Group. In that group concern premises it was found that the group accepts money (in cash) on sales of its plots in all its ongoing projects. Gokul Kripa Group made payments in cash out of books while purchasing the land for its projects. These facts were accepted in the statement recorded at the time of search. The assessee, including his family members, also sold their land to the Group. That Group has developed two schemes, namely Royal Residency Phase-1 and Phase -2 in Sanganer Tehsil, Jaipur that scheme land was purchased from the assessee a....
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....these payments is recorded in the same sheet wherein the cheque payment is recorded. The ld. DR then demonstrated instance of having cheque payment appearing in that excel sheet. The ld. DR referring the page 23 of the assessment wherein the seized diary page was extracted it tally with the payment cash to the assessee and thereby he submitted that the entries recorded in the excel sheet are correct and thereby he supported the finding recorded in the orders of the lower authority. As submitted by the searched person that the entries made in the excel sheet were recorded after removing "00" and thereby the ld. AO considering that facts already confronted to the assessee made by the addition after providing all the material to the assessee. Thus, the addition is based on the document and evidence found during the search and therefore, the addition is fully supported by the material unearth which are incriminating in nature and thereby the addition should be sustained. As regards the contention of the ld. AR of the assessee that the payments have been shown to inflate the expenditure of the searched party on that ld. DR submitted that one will inflate and create incriminating documen....
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....t the name of the assessee was written and therefore, linking that with the excel sheet is self-serving of their out of books and not of the assessee. So far as the legal precedent relied upon by revenue, he filed a distinguishing note on the judgement relied upon by revenue and the said note reads as follows; Distinguishing the case laws relied upon by the ld. CIT(A) 1. SUMATI DAYAL v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX [Refer CIT(A) Order Page 48] Legal and Factual Aspects of the Case In Sumati Dayal v. Commissioner of Income Tax (1995), the Supreme Court addressed a case where the assessee claimed to have won substantial amounts from horse races (Rs. 3,11,831 in assessment year 1971-72 and Rs. 93,500 in assessment year 1972-73). The assessee showed these amounts in her capital accounts but did not record any corresponding expenditure. The legal issue centered on the application of Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, which places the burden on the assessee to satisfactorily explain the nature and source of any sum credited in their books. The Court emphasized that while the burden initially lies on the department to prove a receipt is taxable income, Sec....
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....probabilities worked against the assessee, as it was improbable that a novice could win so many jackpots. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the test of human probabilities actually supports the assessee's position - it defies business logic that a prudent seller would transfer property ownership through registered sale deeds without receiving full payment, especially when the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed. iv. Timing and Sequence of Events: In Sumati Dayal, the timing of the alleged winnings raised suspicion. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology of events strongly supports the assessee's position - the last sale deed was executed on 04.08.2016, whereas the last alleged cash payment was supposedly received as late as 18.03.2018, a gap of about 19 months after legal ownership had already transferred. v. Direct vs. Indirect Evidence: In Sumati Dayal, there was direct evidence linking the assessee to the receipts (certificates from racing clubs, crossed cheques). In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no direct evidence connecting the assessee to the alleged cash payments - the Excel sheet dat....
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....ition improved dramatically after the alleged gifts 4. Despite claiming the gifts were from relatives, the assessee maintained control over the gifted assets. The Supreme Court established the principle that tax authorities are entitled to pierce the veil of apparent transactions to examine their true nature. The Court famously stated that "apparent must be considered real until it is shown that there are reasons to believe that the apparent is not the real" and that the matter must be considered by applying the test of human probabilities. The Court concluded that the gift deeds, despite being legally executed documents, did not represent genuine transactions based on the surrounding circumstances and the test of human probabilities. Distinguishing Points from Anshu Sahai HUF's Case i. Nature of Documentation and Control: In Durga Prasad More, the assessee produced gift deeds that were executed by him and remained under his control, while still maintaining effective control over the allegedly gifted assets. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the disputed transactions involve registered sale deeds where legal ownership and control were completely....
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.... cash payment was supposedly received as late as 18.03.2018, a gap of about 19 months after legal ownership had already transferred. vii. Corroborating Evidence: In Durga Prasad More, there was corroborating evidence against the assessee's claims, including the financial incapacity of the alleged donors. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the allegation of cash payments - the Excel sheet data stands alone without any supporting documentation, witness statements, or financial trail. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Durga Prasad More, the evidence was legally obtained and admissible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the electronic records were relied upon without compliance with Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 3. KANWAR NATWAR SINGH v. DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT [Refer CIT(A) Order Page 11, 27, 35, 47] Legal and Factual Aspects of the Case In Kanwar Natwar Singh v. Director of Enforcement [2010] 13 SCC 255, the Supreme Court addressed a case arising from the Oil-for-Food Programme scandal. The case involved a....
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....trail, and no financial records showing the movement of the alleged cash payments. iii. Corroboration from Multiple Sources: In Kanwar Natwar Singh's case, the evidence was corroborated by multiple independent sources, including international organizations. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet data stands alone without any corroboration from any independent source. iv. Official Recognition of Transactions: In Kanwar Natwar Singh's case, the transactions were officially recognized in the UN Volcker Committee Report. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no official recognition of the alleged cash transactions in any government or regulatory record. v. Completeness of Circumstantial Evidence Chain: In Kanwar Natwar Singh's case, the circumstantial evidence formed a complete chain without gaps. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there are significant gaps in the alleged evidence - no proof of cash withdrawal by the payer, no proof of cash receipt by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use or deposit of the alleged cash by the assessee. vi. Contradictions with Legal Documentation: In Kanwar Natwar Singh's case, the doc....
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....ile the burden initially lies on the tax authorities to prove that a receipt is income, once they establish a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the assessee to prove the genuineness of the transaction. The Court emphasized that tax authorities are entitled to look beyond the apparent state of affairs and examine the true nature of transactions based on surrounding circumstances and human probabilities. The Court concluded that mere production of documents is not sufficient if they do not inspire confidence when viewed in light of surrounding circumstances and the test of human probabilities. Distinguishing Points from Anshu Sahai HUF's Case i. Nature of Disputed Transactions: In Bhagwat Prasad's case, the assessee claimed certain amounts as loans received, which if genuine would not be taxable. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the dispute is not about the characterization of a receipt (the assessee denies receiving any cash payments at all), but about whether additional undisclosed consideration was received for property sales beyond what was stated in registered sale deeds. ii. Source and Creation of Evidence: In Bhagwat Prasad's ....
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....ility of Evidence: In Bhagwat Prasad's case, the evidence was legally obtained and admissible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the electronic records were relied upon without compliance with Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 5. VISHWANATH PRASAD BHAGWATI PRASAD v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX [Refer CIT(A) Order Page 13, 59] Legal and Factual Aspects of the Case In Vishwanath Prasad Bhagwati Prasad v. Commissioner of Income Tax, the Court addressed a case concerning the genuineness of certain business transactions claimed by the assessee. The assessee, a partnership firm, had claimed certain transactions as legitimate business dealings, but the tax authorities disputed their authenticity based on surrounding circumstances. The legal issue centered on whether the Income Tax authorities could look beyond formal documentation to determine the true nature of business transactions. The Court had to decide whether the department could disregard apparently regular business records when other evidence suggested they might not reflect actual transactions. The fac....
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....om the assessee. iv. Legal Documentation: In Vishwanath Prasad's case, there were no legally executed documents that contradicted the department's position. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there are duly registered sale deeds specifying the consideration amount, and as per Sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act, no evidence can be admitted to contradict, vary, add to, or subtract from the terms of a written document. v. Application of "Test of Human Probabilities": In Vishwanath Prasad's case, the test of human probabilities worked against the assessee, as the pattern and timing of transactions appeared contrived. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the test of human probabilities supports the assessee's position - it defies business logic that a prudent seller would transfer property ownership through registered sale deeds without receiving full payment, especially when the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed. vi. Timing and Sequence of Events: In Vishwanath Prasad's case, the suspicious timing of transactions was evidence against the assessee. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronol....
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....ined bank deposits are discovered, the initial burden is on the assessee to provide a satisfactory explanation supported by evidence. The Court emphasized that mere assertions without corroborating evidence are insufficient, especially when the pattern of transactions does not align with normal business practices. The Court concluded that the Income Tax authorities were justified in treating the unexplained deposits as income from undisclosed sources when the assessee failed to discharge the burden of proving the genuineness of his explanation. Distinguishing Points from Anshu Sahai HUF's Case i. Nature of Evidence: In Rameshwar Lal Mali's case, there was direct evidence of cash deposits in the assessee's own bank account, which the assessee acknowledged but failed to explain satisfactorily. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence of any cash receipts or deposits in the assessee's accounts - the only evidence is digital data found from a third party, which the assessee has consistently denied. ii. Acknowledgment vs. Denial: In Rameshwar Lal Mali's case, the assessee acknowledged the deposits but claimed th....
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....h Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 7. DEVASAHAYA NADAR v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX [Refer CIT(A) Order Page 37] Legal and Factual Aspects of the Case In Devasahaya Nadar v. Commissioner of Income Tax, the Court addressed a case concerning unexplained investments and assets discovered during the course of income tax proceedings. The assessee claimed these investments were made from legitimate sources, but the tax authorities disputed this explanation due to lack of supporting evidence. The legal issue centered on the burden of proof when unexplained investments are discovered. The Court had to determine whether the assessee's explanation could be rejected when it was not supported by concrete evidence, and whether the tax authorities could make additions based on circumstantial evidence. The factual matrix revealed several critical elements: 1. The assessee had made substantial investments that were disproportionate to his declared income 2. When questioned, the assessee provided explanations that lacked documentary support 3....
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.... legally executed documents that contradicted the department's position. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the alleged Excel sheet data contradicts the legally executed and registered sale deeds, which under Sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act cannot be contradicted by external evidence. vi. Timing and Sequence of Events: In Devasahaya Nadar's case, the timing of the investments aligned with the period under investigation. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology contradicts the department's position - the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed, which defies business logic and normal commercial practice. vii. Investigation of Source: In Devasahaya Nadar's case, the department investigated the alleged sources of the investments and found them to be inadequate. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence that the tax authorities attempted to verify the alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Devasahaya Nadar's case, t....
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....ed the assessee to the transactions mentioned in the seized documents. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. ii. Contradictory Statements: In Bhavin Kishorebhai's case, the assessee provided contradictory explanations when confronted with the evidence. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the assessee has consistently denied receiving any cash payments beyond what was declared in the registered sale deeds, with no contradictions in its position. iii. Investigation of Entries: In Bhavin Kishorebhai's case, the tax authorities conducted a thorough investigation to verify the authenticity of the entries. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence that the tax authorities attempted to verify the alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. iv. Specific Identification: In Bhavin Kishorebhai's case, the entries specifically identif....
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....ized documents and whether they could form the basis for making additions to the assessee's income. The Court had to determine the circumstances under which such entries could be relied upon and the nature of corroboration required. The factual matrix revealed several critical elements: 1. Entries indicating financial transactions involving the assessee were found in documents seized during search operations 2. There was corroborating evidence supporting these entries, including statements from third parties 3. The pattern of transactions was consistent with the assessee's business activities 4. The assessee's explanation regarding these entries was found to be unsatisfactory and inconsistent The Court held that entries in seized documents can form the basis for additions when they are supported by corroborating evidence and the assessee fails to provide a satisfactory explanation. The Court emphasized that while such entries alone may not be sufficient, they gain probative value when viewed in light of surrounding circumstances and corroborating evidence. The Court concluded that the burden shifts to the as....
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....dence: In Vijay Jain's case, the seized documents were internally consistent and credible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet data contains internal inconsistencies - payments in multiples of hundreds (which is unusual for large cash transactions) and multiple directors making payments on the same dates, which defies normal business practice. vii. Specific Identification: In Vijay Jain's case, the entries specifically identified the assessee and could be directly linked to him. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, in many instances, the Excel sheet entries do not specifically mention Anshu Sahai HUF - the name of the assessee appears only at 3 places (Serial Nos. 149, 164, and 166), while other entries have been arbitrarily attributed to the assessee. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Vijay Jain's case, the evidence was legally obtained and admissible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the electronic records were relied upon without compliance with Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 10. GOPAL S PANDIT v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX [Refer CIT(A) Order Pag....
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....corroborating evidence that supported the entries in the seized documents, including bank transactions and statements from third parties. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. iii. Independent Verification: In Gopal S Pandit's case, the information in the seized documents could be independently verified through other sources. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet data cannot be independently verified as there are no other sources or records that confirm these alleged cash transactions. iv. Assessee's Explanation: In Gopal S Pandit's case, the assessee provided evasive and unconvincing explanations when confronted with the evidence. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the assessee has consistently and categorically denied receiving any cash payments beyond what was declared in the registered sale deeds, with no contradictions in its position. v. Contradictions with Legal Documentation: In Gopal S Pandit's case, there were no legall....
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....ed entries indicating substantial investments 2. When questioned, the assessee provided explanations that lacked documentary support 3. The pattern of investments did not align with the assessee's declared income and financial profile 4. There were inconsistencies in the assessee's statements regarding the source of funds for these investments The Court held that when unexplained investments are discovered in an assessee's books of account, the burden is on the assessee to provide a satisfactory explanation supported by evidence. The Court emphasized that mere assertions without corroborating evidence are insufficient, especially when the investments are substantial and inconsistent with the assessee's declared income. The Court concluded that the Income Tax authorities were justified in treating the unexplained investments as income from undisclosed sources when the assessee failed to discharge the burden of proving the genuineness of his explanation. Distinguishing Points from Anshu Sahai HUF's Case i. Source of Evidence: In Kapurchand Shrimal's case, the evidence of investments was found in th....
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....he alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Kapurchand Shrimal's case, the evidence was legally obtained and admissible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the electronic records were relied upon without compliance with Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 12. JASJIT SINGH v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX [Refer CIT(A) Order Page 37] Legal and Factual Aspects of the Case In Jasjit Singh v. Commissioner of Income Tax, the Court addressed a case concerning unexplained cash transactions and the evidentiary value of entries found in documents seized during search operations. The tax authorities had made additions based on entries found in documents seized during a search operation. The legal issue centered on whether entries in seized documents could form the basis for making additions to the assessee's income without additional corroboration. The Court had to determine the circumstances under which such entr....
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....these alleged cash transactions. iv. Assessee's Explanation: In Jasjit Singh's case, the assessee provided unsatisfactory and inconsistent explanations when confronted with the evidence. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the assessee has consistently and categorically denied receiving any cash payments beyond what was declared in the registered sale deeds, with no contradictions in its position. v. Contradictions with Legal Documentation: In Jasjit Singh's case, there were no legally executed documents that contradicted the department's position. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the alleged Excel sheet data contradicts the legally executed and registered sale deeds, which under Sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act cannot be contradicted by external evidence. vi. Timing and Sequence of Events: In Jasjit Singh's case, the timing of the transactions aligned with the period under investigation. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology contradicts the department's position - the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed, which defies business logic and normal commercial practice. ....
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....ents. The Court concluded that mere denial without substantive rebuttal is insufficient when the seized documents contain specific details that can be independently verified and the surrounding circumstances support the authenticity of the entries. Distinguishing Points from Anshu Sahai HUF's Case i. Specificity and Detail of Entries: In Sushil Kumar Mohanani's case, the entries were specific, detailed, and contained information that could be independently verified. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet entries lack specificity and detail - they merely show dates and amounts without any supporting details such as mode of payment, place of payment, or acknowledgment of receipt. ii. Corroborating Evidence: In Sushil Kumar Mohanani's case, there was corroborating evidence that supported the entries in the seized documents, including bank transactions and statements from third parties. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. ....
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.... Legal and Factual Aspects of the Case In Pawan Kumar Malhotra v. Commissioner of Income Tax, the Court addressed a case concerning unexplained cash transactions and the evidentiary value of entries found in documents seized during search operations. The tax authorities had made additions based on entries found in documents seized during a search operation. The legal issue centered on whether entries in seized documents could form the basis for making additions to the assessee's income without additional corroboration. The Court had to determine the circumstances under which such entries could be relied upon and the extent of corroboration required. The factual matrix revealed several critical elements: 1. Entries indicating financial transactions involving the assessee were found in documents seized during search operations 2. The entries were specific, detailed, and contained information that could be independently verified 3. There was corroborating evidence supporting these entries, including bank transactions and statements from third parties 4. The assessee's explanation regarding these entries wa....
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....there were no legally executed documents that contradicted the department's position. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the alleged Excel sheet data contradicts the legally executed and registered sale deeds, which under Sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act cannot be contradicted by external evidence. vi. Timing and Sequence of Events: In Pawan Kumar Malhotra's case, the timing of the transactions aligned with the period under investigation. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology contradicts the department's position - the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed, which defies business logic and normal commercial practice. vii. Investigation and Verification: In Pawan Kumar Malhotra's case, the tax authorities conducted a thorough investigation to verify the authenticity of the entries. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence that the tax authorities attempted to verify the alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Paw....
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....nd contained information that could be independently verified. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet entries lack specificity and detail - they merely show dates and amounts without any supporting details such as mode of payment, place of payment, or acknowledgment of receipt. ii. Corroborating Evidence: In Khopade Kisanrao Manikrao's case, there was corroborating evidence that supported the entries in the seized documents, including statements from third parties. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. iii. Independent Verification: In Khopade Kisanrao Manikrao's case, the information in the seized documents could be independently verified through other sources. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet data cannot be independently verified as there are no other sources or records that confirm these alleged cash transactions. iv. Assessee's Explanation: In Khopade Kisanrao Manikrao's case, the assessee provided unsatisfac....
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....hether entries in seized documents could form the basis for making additions to the assessee's income without additional corroboration. The Court had to determine the circumstances under which such entries could be relied upon and the extent of corroboration required. The factual matrix revealed several critical elements: 1. Entries indicating financial transactions involving the assessee were found in documents seized during search operations 2. The entries were specific, detailed, and contained information that could be independently verified 3. There was corroborating evidence supporting these entries, including bank transactions and statements from third parties 4. The assessee's explanation regarding these entries was found to be evasive and unconvincing The Court held that entries in seized documents can form the basis for additions when they are specific, detailed, and supported by corroborating evidence. The Court emphasized that the burden shifts to the assessee to provide a satisfactory explanation when prima facie evidence links the assessee to the transactions recorded in seized documents. The Court ....
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....'s case, the timing of the transactions aligned with the period under investigation. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology contradicts the department's position - the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed, which defies business logic and normal commercial practice. vii. Investigation and Verification: In Pravinbhai Keshavbhai Patel's case, the tax authorities conducted a thorough investigation to verify the authenticity of the entries. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence that the tax authorities attempted to verify the alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Pravinbhai Keshavbhai Patel's case, the evidence was legally obtained and admissible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the electronic records were relied upon without compliance with Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 17. VEENA ESTATES v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX [Refer CIT(A....
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....borating evidence that supported the entries in the seized documents, including statements from buyers/sellers and other financial records. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. ii. Pattern of Transactions: In Veena Estates' case, the pattern of transactions aligned with known market practices in real estate. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the alleged pattern of cash payments defies normal business logic - it is implausible that a prudent seller would transfer property ownership through registered sale deeds without receiving full payment, especially when the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed. iii. Specificity and Detail of Entries: In Veena Estates' case, the entries were specific, detailed, and contained information that could be independently verified. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet entries lack specificity and detail - they merely show dates and amounts without any supporting....
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.... seized during search operations. The tax authorities had made additions based on entries found in documents seized during a search operation that suggested undisclosed sales and income. The legal issue centered on whether entries in seized documents could form the basis for making additions to the assessee's income without additional corroboration. The Court had to determine the circumstances under which such entries could be relied upon and the extent of corroboration required. The factual matrix revealed several critical elements: 1. Entries indicating undisclosed sales and income were found in documents seized during search operations 2. The entries were specific, detailed, and contained information that could be independently verified 3. There was corroborating evidence supporting these entries, including physical inventory discrepancies and statements from employees 4. The pattern of transactions aligned with the nature of the jewellery business where cash transactions are common 5. The assessee's explanation regarding these entries was found to be evasive and unconvincing The Court held that entr....
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....xecuted documents that contradicted the department's position. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the alleged Excel sheet data contradicts the legally executed and registered sale deeds, which under Sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act cannot be contradicted by external evidence. vi. Timing and Sequence of Events: In LKS Gold House's case, the timing of the transactions aligned with the period under investigation. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology contradicts the department's position - the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed, which defies business logic and normal commercial practice. vii. Investigation and Verification: In LKS Gold House's case, the tax authorities conducted a thorough investigation to verify the authenticity of the entries, including obtaining statements from employees. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence that the tax authorities attempted to verify the alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evid....
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....itwears' case, the primary issue was procedural - whether proper satisfaction was recorded before initiating proceedings against third parties. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the issue is substantive - whether the Excel sheet data found from a third party constitutes reliable evidence of undisclosed income. ii. Quality and Reliability of Evidence: In Calcutta Knitwears' case, the Court emphasized that proceedings must be based on cogent materials having rational connection to undisclosed income. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet data lacks cogency - it contains no details about mode of payment, place of payment, or acknowledgment of receipt, and has internal inconsistencies. iii. Corroborating Evidence: In Calcutta Knitwears' case, the Court required tangible material with rational nexus to undisclosed income. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. iv. Contradictions with Legal Documentation: In Calcutta Knitwears' case, t....
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.... for making additions or imposing penalties without additional corroboration. The Court had to determine the circumstances under which such entries could be relied upon and the extent of corroboration required. The factual matrix revealed several critical elements: 1. Entries indicating customs duty evasion were found in documents seized during search operations 2. The entries were specific, detailed, and contained information that could be independently verified 3. There was corroborating evidence supporting these entries, including physical verification of goods and statements from employees 4. The pattern of transactions aligned with the nature of the import business 5. The assessee's explanation regarding these entries was found to be unsatisfactory and inconsistent The Supreme Court held that entries in seized documents can form the basis for proceedings when they are specific, detailed, and supported by corroborating evidence. The Court emphasized that while such entries alone may not be sufficient, they gain probative value when viewed in light of surrounding circumstances and corroborating evidence. ....
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....y's case, the timing of the transactions aligned with the period under investigation. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the chronology contradicts the department's position - the alleged cash payments continued for 19 months after the registration of the last sale deed, which defies business logic and normal commercial practice. vii. Investigation and Verification: In Kanungo & Company's case, the authorities conducted a thorough investigation to verify the authenticity of the entries, including physical verification of goods. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no evidence that the tax authorities attempted to verify the alleged cash payments with the directors of Gokul Kripa Group who supposedly made these payments, despite having access to them during and after the search. viii. Legal Admissibility of Evidence: In Kanungo & Company's case, the evidence was legally obtained and admissible. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the electronic records were relied upon without compliance with Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, making them legally inadmissible without proper certification. 21. CANARA BANK v. DEBASIS DAS [Refer CIT....
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...., the Excel sheet entries lack specificity and detail - they merely show dates and amounts without any supporting details such as mode of payment, place of payment, or acknowledgment of receipt. iii. Corroborating Evidence: In Canara Bank's case, there was corroborating evidence that supported the documentary evidence, including bank records and statements from witnesses. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, there is no corroborating evidence supporting the Excel sheet data - no evidence of cash withdrawals by the payer, no evidence of cash receipts by the assessee, and no evidence of subsequent use of the alleged cash. iv. Independent Verification: In Canara Bank's case, the information in the documents could be independently verified through bank records and other sources. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the Excel sheet data cannot be independently verified as there are no other sources or records that confirm these alleged cash transactions. v. Contradictions with Legal Documentation: In Canara Bank's case, there were no legally executed documents that contradicted the allegations. In Anshu Sahai HUF's case, the alleged Excel sheet data contra....
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....urther reveals that the assessee repeated praying to provide to the revenue the satisfaction note recorded by the ld. AO of the searched person and satisfaction recorded by the ld. AO of the Assessee Appellant have not been provided and the revenue did not present it in the present appellate proceeding and therefore, we are of the considered view that the without providing the satisfaction note for acquiring the jurisdiction the ultimate order lacks the jurisdiction. On this aspect of the matter ld. AR of the assessee in the case law paper book filed relied upon the decision of Hon'ble Karnatak High Court in the case of DCIT Vs. Sunil Kumar Sharema 469 ITR 197(Karnataka) wherein the High Court held that; 53. Further, satisfaction note is required to be recorded under section 153C of the IT Act for each Assessment Year and in the impugned proceedings, a consolidated satisfaction note has been recorded for different Assessment Years, which also vitiates the entire assessment proceedings. In view of all these findings, it is said that the appeals do not have any substance for seeking intervention as sought for by the appellant/Revenue. 54. The question as regards whe....
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....g: ORDER The appeals preferred by the appellant/Revenue are hereby rejected. Consequently, the order passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.Nos.9937/2022 C/w. W.P.Nos.9938/2022, 9939/2022, 9945/2022 and 9946/2022 is hereby confirmed. Before parting with this judgment, this Court places on record its deep appreciation for the able research and assistance rendered by its Research Assistant-cum-Law Clerk, Mr.Pranav.K.B. The bench also noted that SLP against that decision filed by the revenue was also dismissed by the Apex Court and therefore, respectfully, following the above judicial precedent cited by the ld. AR of the assessee we considered ground no. 1 raised by the assessee. 12.1 Vide ground no. 2 the assessee - appellant challenges the finding of the ld. CIT(A) in upholding the assessment order which was passed without obtaining proper approval under section 153D of the Act and thereby prayed to quash the entire assessment order as absence of proper approval under section 153D has vitiated the assessment order. Record reveals that all the seven Assessment Years i.e. A.Y. 2015- 16, A.Y. 2016-17, A.Y. 2017-18, A.Y. 2018-19, A.Y. 2019-20, A.Y.....
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....ght of the material relied upon by the AO. The said power cannot be exercised casually and in a routine manner. We are constrained to observe that in the present case, there has been no application of mind by the Addl. Commissioner before granting the approval. Therefore, we have no hesitation to hold that the assessment order made u/s. 143(3) of the Act r.w. sec. 153A of the Act is bad in law and deserves to be annulled. The additional ground of appeal is allowed." Reliance was also placed on the Judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of CIT v. S. Goyanka Lime & Chemical Ltd. [2015] 64.taxmann.com 313 (SC) wherein the department's SLP was dismissed. Similar view was serviced as legal precedent of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in ACIT vs. Serajuddin & Co. [2024] 163 taxmann.com 118 (SC) wherein the Apex Court held that approval u/s 153D is a mandatory safeguard and cannot be granted mechanically. Further, in PCIT vs. Anuj Bansal [2024] 165 taxmann.com 3 (SC), Hon'ble Supreme Court upheld the finding that absence of application of mind by the approving authority renders the approval invalid. It has also been held by the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court in PCIT vs. Sapna Gupta [202....
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....gedly were made, over and above the cheque payments, towards consideration for purchase of the above lands from the Assessee Appellant along with other family members. The details of such alleged cash payments are appearing at pages 4 to 14 of the order of the ld. AO. It is alleged that the total cash payments, emerging from above digital data, in all, amounted to Rs. 56,31,38,250/- made to all the family members towards all the sale transactions spanning over the following 3 financial years (ld. AO Pages 34). Ld. AO apportioned the alleged on-money paid in cash in proportion to cheque amount received by individual seller and, thereafter, said amount was further bifurcated into three financial years. The said workings are appearing at page 35 of the assessment order. On the basis of above presumptions and apportionment, following additions have been made towards alleged consideration received for sale of land over and above the consideration received through banking channel: Assessment Year Amount (in Rs.) 2016-17 16,21,91,214/- 2017-18 17,81,66,880/- 2018-19 3,40,24,557/- Record reveals that the alleged on-money payments in cash are spread over a period ....
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....66 (assessment order page 12 & 13). Thus, without referring to that specific entry the ld. AO made the addition based on the lump sum and based on the surmises and conjecture without considering the real facts recorded in that loose sheet and that too without getting it confronted to the assessee. The bench thus noted that the alleged Excel Sheet date is absolutely uncorroborated. There is no underlying evidence which could substantiate such entries in the Excel Sheet. It is worthwhile to note that payments have allegedly been made over a period of 30 months and that too by 4 directors namely Sumer Singh Saini, Sangeeta Saini, Phool Chand Saini and Rajesh Kumar. It is beyond comprehension that 4 persons making payments over a period of 30 months would execute that task without maintaining underlying data and also without obtaining signatures of the recipients. This again proves that action of ld. AO is without any basis and beyond human probabilities. It is also out of human probabilities that many payments are in the multiples of hundreds which normally do not look plausible when such huge payment was to be made in cash. Similarly, on various dates, payments are made by more than ....
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....ing Authority though the statements of those witnesses were made the basis of the impugned order is a serious flaw which makes the order nullity inasmuch as it amounted to violation of principles of natural justice because of which the assessee was adversely affected". When the assessee taken up all these issues before the ld. CIT(A) who did not deal with the factual inconsistencies brought to his notice as above. He simply rejected the submissions mentioning that what details and in what manner are kept by the buyer is dependent on the trust he has on the seller. On this of corroborative evidence the ld. CIT(A) rejected that plea. Even the plea of the assessee that the material was in the nature of dumb document which would not possess any stand-alone evidentiary value since it did not contain the complete particulars of the relevant transactions and the persons involved in the said transactions. The addition as made on the basis of such a dumb document would not be sustainable as the same is non-speaking document, without any corroborative material / evidence or without a finding that such document had materialized into transactions giving rise to income of the Assessee. Thus,....
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....he material on the basis of which investigation is sought is itself irrelevant to constitute evidence and not admissible in evidence, we have apprehension whether it would be safe to even initiate investigation. In case we do so, the investigation can be ordered as against any person whosoever high in integrity on the basis of irrelevant or inadmissible entry falsely made, by any unscrupulous person or business house that too not kept in regular books of account but on random papers at any given point of time. There has to be some relevant and admissible evidence and some cogent reason, which is prima facie reliable and that too, supported by some other circumstances pointing out that the particular third person against whom the allegations have been levelled was in fact involved in the matter or he has done some act during that period, which may have corelations with the random entries. In case we do not insist for all these, the process of law can be abused against all and sundry very easily to achieve ulterior goals and then no democracy can survive in case investigations are lightly set in motion against important constitutional functionaries on the basis of fictitious entries,....
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....ave Petition (SLP) before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. However, the Hon'ble Supreme Court was pleased to dismiss the said SLP in [2024] 165 taxmann.com 846 (SC) Respectfully following the judicial precedent cited and considering that the fact that a buyer paid Rs. 37.43 crores in cash over multiple transactions without obtaining a single signed agreement, acknowledgement, or receipt from the seller is highly unbelievable. No prudent businessperson would make such a substantial payment without legal documentation to safeguard his interest and thereby the contention being without any supporting evidence cannot be believe to tax the huge amount in the hands of the assessee. The submission on the reliability of the digital record is considered but not required to be repeated here again to avoid the repetition and thereby we are of the considered view that merely based on the excel sheet without any corroborative evidence no addition can be made in the hands of the assessee and thereby the ground no. 3 raised by the assessee is allowed. 12.4 Ground no. 4 being consequential in nature and does not require any finding. Resultantly the appeal filed by the assessee in ITA no. 466/JP/....