TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (1) TMI 1618
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....n the Rubberwala Group on 19.03.2021. During the course of search at the premises of Shri Imran Ansari, an employee of the group, an Excel sheet was stated to have been seized and his statement was recorded. Based on the said material, the AO observed that the assessee's name figured in the Excel sheet and that the assessee allegedly paid "on-money" as under:- ● A.Y. 2017-18 : Rs. 1,00,000/- ● A.Y. 2018-19 : Rs. 18,00,000/- ● A.Y. 2019-20 : Rs. 10,00,000/- ● A.Y. 2020-21 : Rs. 2,95,000/- On the basis of the statement of Shri Imran Ansari and in the absence of any reply to the show cause notice, the AO made the additions in the respective years. The CIT(A) confirmed the additions. Aggrieved, the assessee is in appeal before the Tribunal. 3. The effective grievance of the assessee is against confirmation of the additions towards alleged "on-money" in respect of purchase of shop, based solely on documents and statements found during the course of search in the Rubberwala Group, in proceedings initiated under section 153C. 4. The learned Authorised Representative ("AR") submitted that the assessee has not paid any ....
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....nd the alleged Excel sheet. It is an undisputed fact that the AO did not provide a copy of the Excel sheet to the assessee. Further, the AO has neither reproduced the entries nor discussed the date-wise details in the assessment order. The additions have essentially been made on the basis of a general statement of Shri Imran Ansari explaining the modus operandi, without specifically identifying the assessee as having made the alleged payments through cogent, independent evidence. We note that the Tribunal in a series of decisions arising out of the Rubberwala Group search has consistently held that an addition cannot be sustained merely on the basis of third-party statement and uncorroborated Excel data, particularly when: (i) the assessee denies the payment, (ii) no independent corroborative evidence is brought on record, and (iii) the opportunity of cross-examination is not provided. The coordinate bench decision in Praveen Khetaram Purohit (supra) has examined this issue in detail and held that in absence of corroboration and in absence of due confrontation, such additions cannot be sustained as under : 8. We have heard the arguments for....
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....hri ImranAshfaque Ansari was covered under section 132 of the I.T. Act, 1961. His statement was also recorded on oath at his residence. Vide question no. 11 of the said statement dt. 17.03.2021, Shri Imran Ansari was questioned about his roles and responsibilities in M/s. Rubberwala Housing & Infrastructure Ltd (RHIL). In response, Shri Imran Ansari stated that he has been working with Rubberwala group of entities since 2010 and inter-alia handling sale and registration of the shops in "PlatinumMall" Project of M/s. Rubberwala Housing & Infrastructure Ltd (RHIL). 5.3. Shri Imran Ansari in his response to question no. 13 & 14 of the said statement explained the complete procedure of the of the sale of shops in the "Platinum Mall" project. While explaining further about the price structure of the shops, Shri Imran Ansari in response to Q. no. 15 categorically revealed that the total price of the shops contains cash component and banking channel component, and these components are decided by Shri Tabrez Shaikh (Director/CMD of RHIL and Promoter of Rubberwala Group). On probing further, Shri Imran Ansari, in response to Q. no. 16, stated that these prices, as decided by Shri T....
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.... shops, is of Shri Rajesh Jain. 5.5. Regarding the frequency of updating the said excel file/sheet, Shri Imran Ansari, in response to Q. no. 25, stated that this sheet is updated on the same day when a payment is received either in cash or cheque (or banking channel). The column A to AR of the sheet "Master" are stated to be updated till 16.03.2021 and other sheets of the said excel file are also stated to be updated till 16.03.2021. It is revealed in the above response that he takes the parties to ShriAbrar Ahmed (who during the search established to be a person handing cash for the Rubberwala Group). ShriAbrar Ahmed, after receiving the cash confirms to Shri Imran Ansari who update the diariesand the said excel file. Such detailed mechanism in place further upholds the facts stated by Shri Imran Ansari on oath. It is also important to note here that Shri Imran Ansari also used to call and follow up with the buyers on the numbers saved in his data. As aforementioned, the number, for the shops for which the assessee has paid the cash component, is mentioned as 9892196071, which is the assessee's own number. Thus, it makes clear that for the cash payment part, for all the a....
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....R submitted that this addition should be deleted. 16. We heard Ld D.R and perused the record. We notice that the AO has made the addition on the basis of evidence found in the premises of third party and alsoon the basis of deposition made by the employee of the third party. No corroborative material was brought on record to support the statement so given, which is mandatory when the assessee denies any such payment. Further, the AO also did not provide opportunity of cross examination to the assessee, even after the said request was made by the assessee. Under these set of facts, we are of the view that the impugned addition of Rs. 18,64,200/- cannot be sustained. In this regard, we may take support from the decision rendered by SMC bench of Mumbai Tribunal in the case of Naren Premchang Nagda vs. ITO (IT Appeal No. 3265/Mum/2015 dated 08-07-2016), wherein an identical issue was decided as under:- 17. We also notice that the AO did not provide opportunity to cross examine the persons from Rubberwala group, on whose statements the AO had placed reliance upon. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has held in the case of Andaman Timber Industries vs. Commissioner of Central Ex....