Mrs. Rupal Jain, Meerut V. ACIT, Meerut

ITA 975/DEL/2017

• Counselvise Citation: [2022] 106 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 6587 (ITAT-DELHI)
• Duration Of Justice: 5 year(s) 3 month(s) 26 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 15-06-2022
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: PartlyAllowed
• Bench Allotted: F
• Assessment Year: 2012-2013
• Appeal Filed On: 19-02-2017
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Section: 68; 201; 43; 13

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “F” DELHI BEFORE SHRI SAKTIJIT DEY, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SHRI PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER I.T.A. No.975/DEL/2017 Assessment Year 2012-13 Mrs. Rupal Jain, 147-D, Saket, Meerut. ACIT, Circle-2, Meerut. TAN/PAN: AHFPK2342D (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by: Shri Deepak Kapoor, Adv. Mrs. Rupal Jain, Assessee. Respondent by: Shri Shyam Manohar Singh, Sr.DR Date of hearing: 04 05 2022 Date of pronouncement: 06 2022 O R D E R PER PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, A.M.: Th e cap tio n ed ap peal h as b een fil ed b y th e Assessee ag ain st th e o rd er o f th e C o mmiss io n er o f In co me T ax (Ap p eals), Me eru t (‘CIT(A)’ in sh o rt) d ated 2 3 .12 .2 0 16 arisin g fro m th e assess men t o rd er d ated 2 0 .0 3.2 0 1 5 p assed by th e Assess in g Officer (AO) u n d er Sectio n 1 43 (3 ) o f th e In co me T ax Act , 1 9 6 1 (th e Act) co n cern in g AY 201 2 -13 . 2 . Th e g ro u nd s o f ap p eal ra ised b y th e assesse e read s as u n d er: “ A ) T h e a d d i t i o n s o f R s . 6 3 , 5 8 , 5 0 0 / - u / s 6 8 o f t h e A c t o n a c c o u n t o f u n s e c u re d l o a n d e se r v e s t o b e d e l e t e d i n t o t o o n t h e f o l l o w i n g , i n t e r a l i a , g ro u n d s. 1 ) B E CA U S E o n f a c t s a n d i n l a w a n d o n g ro u n d s t a k en a n d b a si s a d o p t e d , t h e a d d i t i o n o f R s. 6 3 , 5 8 , 5 0 0 / - u / s 6 8 o n a c c o u n t I.T.A. No.975/Del/2017 2 o f u n se c u r e d l o a n s i s u n j u st i f i e d a n d i l l e g a l . 2 ) B E CA U S E t h e a p p e l l a n t f i l e d t h e d o c u m e n t s / p r oo f (C o n f i r m a t i o n Ce rt i f i c a t e s , I T R , B a n k A / c , s t a t e m e nt o f a f f a i r s, c a sh f l o w s t a t e m e n t , e t c . o f t h e l e n d e r s ) i n su p p o rt o f t h e u n se c u r e d l o a n s a n d d u l y d i sc h a rg e d t h e p ri m a f a c i e o n u s u / s 6 8 o f t h e A c t i n a c c o rd a n c e wi t h t h e l a w l a i d d o wn b y t h e H o n ’ b l e A p e x Co u r t a n d a l s o J u r i s d i c t i o n a l H i g h C o u rt . 3 ) B E CA U S E A p p e l l a n t h a s d u l y e x p l a i n e d t h e i d e n t i t y / g e n u i n e n e s s / c re d i t w o r t h i n e s s o f a l l t h e l en d e r s wh o g a v e u n se c u r e d l o a n s a n d f u l l y d i s c h a r g e d t h e o n u s a s re q u i re d u / s 6 8 o f t h e A c t . 4 ) B E CA U S E L d . CI T (A ) wi t h o u t c o n s i d e r i n g t h e d e t a i l s/ d o c u m e n t s f i l e d b y t h e l e n d e r i n p u r su a n c e o f n o t i c e s u / s 1 3 3 (6 ) p r o c e e d e d t o m a k e t h e a d d i t i o n s i n c l e a r d i sr e g a r d o f l a w o f l a n d a n d t h e f a c t s o f t h e c a se . 5 ) B E CA U S E L d . CI T (A ) c o n f i r m e d a d d i t i o n s o n c o n je c t u r e & s u rm i se s a n d wi t h o u t c o n si d e ri n g t h e m a t e ri a l o n r e c o rd . 6 ) B E CA U S E t h e L d . CI T (A ) f a i l e d t o a p p r e c i a t e t he f a c t t h a t t h e c h e q u e s re p re s e n t i n g u n s e c u r e d l o a n s we r e n o t e n c a sh e d d u r i n g t h e re l e v a n t p r e v i o u s y e a r. T h e sa id c h e q u e s we r e o n l y e n c a sh e d i n t h e su b se q u e n t y e a r s. T h e re f ore , p r o v i s i o n s o f se c t i o n 6 8 a r e si m p l y n o t a p p l i c a b l e . 7 ) B E CA U S E t h e L d . A O f a i l e d t o p ro v i d e r e a s o n a b l e o p p o rt u n i t y t o t h e A p p e l l a n t a n d f a i l e d t o p ro v i d e t h e m a t e ri a l g a t h e r e d b e h i n d t h e b a c k o f t h e A p p e l l a n t . 8 ) B E CA U S E t h e p r o v i si o n s o f s e c t i o n 1 4 4 A a r e m a n da t o ry i n n a t u re a n d t h e d i re c t i o n s g i v e n b y L d . A d d i t i o n al CI T h a v e t o b e f o l l o we d b y t h e L d . A s se s si n g O f f i c e r . B ) T h e a d d i t i o n o f R s . 1 5 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 / - m a d e t o t h e t o t al i n c o m e I.T.A. No.975/Del/2017 3 d e c l a r e d b y t h e A p p e l l a n t o n a c c o u n t o f c a p i t a l i n tr o d u c e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t d e s e r v e s t o b e d e l e t e d i n t o t o o n t h e f o l l o wi n g , i n t e r a l i a , g r o u n d s: 1 ) B E CA U S E o n f a c t s a n d i n l a w a n d o n g r o u n d s t a k e n a n d b a si s a d o p t e d , t h e a d d i t i o n o f R s. 1 5 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 / - u / s 6 8 o n a c c o u n t o f c a p i t a l i n t ro d u c e d i s u n j u st i f i e d a n d i l l e g a l . 2 ) B E CA U S E A p p e l l a n t h a s f i l e d t h e d o c u m e n t s / p r oo f i n su p p o r t o f t h e c a p i t a l i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g t h e y e a r wh i c h we r e t o t a l l y i g n o re d b y t h e I . T . A u t h o r i t i e s . T h e A p p e l la n t r e c e i v e d t h e c h e q u e o u t o f h e r d e b i t b a l a n c e i n t h e c a p i t a l a c c o u n t o f t h e f i r m v i z . A ri h a n t M e d i a P ro m o t e r s. T h e c o p i e s o f b an k a c c o u n t , I T R , c o n f i r m a t i o n c e r t i f i c a t e f r o m t h e sa i d f i r m w ere d u l y f i l e d b y t h e A p p e l l a n t d u r i n g a ss e s sm e n t a s we l l a s i n f irs t a p p e a l . T h e A p p e l l a n t h a s d u l y d i s c h a r g e d t h e o n u s a s re q u ir e d u / s 6 8 o f t h e A c t . 3 ) B E CA U S E t h e I . T . A u t h o ri t i e s f a i l e d t o a p p r e c i at e t h a t t h e c h e q u e r e p r e se n t i n g c a p i t a l i n t r o d u c e d wa s o n l y e n c a s h e d b y t h e A p p e l l a n t a f t e r t h e e n d o f re l e v a n t p re v i o u s y ea r. A s s u c h t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f se c t i o n 6 8 a r e si m p l y n o t a p p l i c a b l e .” 3 . Brie fly st ated , th e assessee is en g a g ed in th e bu sin ess o f carry in g o u t p rin tin g work as a p ro prieto r o f M/s . Ari h an t Prin t So lu tio n s. Th e re tu rn fi led b y th e assesse e was su bject ed to scru tin y assess me n t. Th e Assessin g Offi cer in t er a lia mad e ad d itio n s to Rs.6 3 , 5 8 ,5 00 /- u nd er Sectio n 6 8 o f th e Act o n acco un t o f receip t o f u n secu red lo an s fro m v ario u s p arties tab u lat ed h erein : I.T.A. No.975/Del/2017 4 S.No. Name of depositor Returned income For A.Y. 2012- 13 Relation with assessee Amount 1 Smt. Beena Jain 43,51,390 Mother in law 10,00,000 2 Deepesh Jain HUF 9,58,300 HUF of brother in law 15,00,000 3 Parvesh Jain 20,22,640 Husband 5,08,500 4 Parvesh Jain HUF 7,93,870 Husband’s HUF 8,00,000 5 Reetesh Jain HUF 7,38,950 HUF of brother in law 8,00,000 6 Yogesh Chand Jain 11,81,610 Father in law 8,50,000 7 Parul Jain 9,88,790 Sister in law 5,00,000 8 Payal Jain 9,06,370 Sister in law 4,00,000 | Total 63,58,500 4. The A ss es si ng Of f icer ha s als o ma de an ad dit io n of Rs .1 5 l ac un der Sec ti on 6 8 of the A ct o n acc ou nt of recei pt in th e ca pit al f ro m the pa rt ner sh ip f i r m i n th e a bs en ce of exp la na ti on to war ds s ou rc e of f und as a lle ge d. 5. On c ha ll en ge, th e CI T( A) d id no t f ind a n y me ri t in v ari ou s ple as r ai se d o n be half of th e as se ss e e an d co nf ir med th e act io n of the A ss es si ng Of f ic er. 6. Ag gri ev ed b y t he ord er of t he C IT (A ), th e a ss es se e p ref err ed app ea l bef or e th e T rib un al . 7. Ld. co un se l f or the as se ss ee i n t he c ou rs e of h ea rin g, su b mitt ed t ha t the a sse ss ee h as re ce iv e d u ns ec ur ed l oan s f ro m wit hi n the f a mil y me mb er s onl y, wh o are a ll asse ss ed t o tax an d reg ul ar l y f iled th e re tur n of inc o me. A dv er tin g to th e t ab ul at ed st ate me nt at pag e 4 3 of th e pa pe r bo ok , th e l d. c ou n sel su b mit ted th at t he i nt ere st was a ls o pa id on t h e l oa ns s o t ak en i n mo st ca se s an d T D S was d ul y ded uc te d a s pe r Ch apt er X VI I- B o f the Ac t. A ch a rt sh ow in g ope ni ng ba la nc e, u nse cu re d l oa n ra is e d d uri ng th e ye a r, add re ss of the le nd er s, PA N Nu mb er of th e l end er s, in ter es t p aid, cl os in g bal an ce e tc . w as r e f erre d to in t he co u rse of hea ring . It w as i ns is te d tha t e ac h a nd ev er y len de r i s a cl os e r ela ti ve be ing h us ba nd, f ath er - I.T.A. No.975/Del/2017 5 in- la w, mot he r- i n-l aw , br ot he rs a nd s is te r-i n- la w. I t wa s al so poi nt ed ou t t ha t t h e le nd er s h av e c on f ir me d t he mo ne y len t i n t he pro ce ed in gs ca rr ied ou t un der S ec ti on 13 3(6 ) of th e Ac t i n t er ms of dir ec ti on s is su ed b y t he Ad di tio na l Co mmi s si on er of I nco me Ta x un der Sec ti on 1 44 A of the A ct . It was th us s ub mi tt ed th at t he ass es se e ha s di sc har ge d th e pr i mar y o n us w hi ch l a y upo n th e ass es se e to wa rd s id ent it y of len de rs , g enu in en es s of tra ns act io ns a nd cre di tw or thi ne ss of the le nd er s as ca ll ed up on u/s . 68 of the A ct . It was po in te d o ut t h at o nl y g ro un d f or add it io n i s non a dhe re nc e of per so na l at te nd anc e cal le d un de r S ect ion 13 1 of the Act whi ch w as wat er ed do wn an d mo dif ie d b y t he Ad dit io na l C o mm issio ne r i n ter ms of dir ect io ns iss ue d un de r S ect i on 1 44 A of the A ct . On bei ng inq ui re d b y t h e B e nch , i t wa s f ur th er as ser te d t ha t t he loa ns ha ve bee n d ul y re pa id i n the s u bse qu en t a ss ess me nt ye a rs, t he par ti cu lar s of a mo un t re pai d al on g wi th c he qu e de tai ls w er e f ile d as d ire ct ed. In the li gh t of t he se f act s, it wa s c on te n ded th at it is wh ol l y u nf air f o r the R ev en ue to e m bro il t he as se ss ee i n f ut ile l it iga ti on . Ld. c ou ns el thu s u rg ed f or res t ora ti on of the po sit ion ta ke n b y th e as ses se e a nd rev er sa l of ad di ti on ma de . 8. As re ga rd s i nt ro d uct io n of ca pi tal of R s. 15 la c i n i ts pro pr ie tar y c o nc er n, it w as s ub mi tte d t ha t th e a mo unt ha s be en tra nsf e rre d f ro m i ndi vi du al ac co unt to t he pr op ri eto rs h ip c on ce rn thr ou gh ba nk in g c han ne l a nd i t is m ere l y a bo ok e ntr y f ro m o ne acc ou nt t o a no the r wit ho ut an y be nef i t to th e a sse ss ee per se. I t w as poi nt ed out th at t he a mo un t wa s e sse nt ia ll y re cei ved f ro m th e par tn er sh ip f ir m w h ich wa s, in tur n, tr a nsf er re d to th e p ro p rie to rs hi p con ce rn a nd th us t h e s ou rc e c an no t be do ubt ed . 9. The L d. DR f o r t h e R eve n ue, on t he oth er ha nd , rel ie d up on the o rd er s of th e lo wer a ut ho rit ie s. I.T.A. No.975/Del/2017 6 10. W e h av e ca ref u ll y con si de re d th e ri va l su b mis sion s an d t ake n not e of th e mat eri al r ef err ed t o a nd rel ied up on . The f irst i ss ue rel at es to a dd it io n of R s. 63 ,5 8, 50 0/ - un de r Se ct io n 68 of th e Ac t. W e no ti ce t hat t he ass es se e ha s not o n l y di sc ha rg ed th e p ri mar y o n us b y f i li ng co nf ir mat ion a nd th e IT re t urn s an d b al ance s hee t of th e len de rs , th e as se ss ee i s al so s ta te d to hav e pa id int er es t in mos t of the c as es a nd d ed u cte d T DS t he reo n. No tic ia bl y, t he l en der s ar e th e f amil y me mb er s a nd t he y are als o f ilin g th ei r re turn of inco me dec la ri ng i nc o me whi ch is in e xce ss of mo ne y len t. Th e cre di tw or thi ne ss i s th us r eas on ab l y e sta bl is he d. A par t f ro m t he se f acts , as s tat ed , th e loa ns wer e al so s too d re pa id i n th e su bse qu en t ass es s men t ye a r w hic h tra ns ce nd s al l o th er co ns id erati on s i n the lig ht of th e d ec is io n of H on ’b le Gu jar at Hig h Co ur t i n t he c as e of CI T vs . A yac hi Ch an dr as hek ha r N ar s an gji , (20 14 ) 42 ta xm an n.c om 25 1 (G uj. ); C IT v s. Kar aj S in gh (2 01 1 ) 1 5 ta xm an n. co m 7 0 (P &H ) & Pa nn a De vi C ho wd ry vs . CI T, 2 08 I T R 84 9 (B om . ). T he r ef ore w he n the f a ct s ar e s ee in g h ost ic al l y, w e f ind t ha t a ss essee h as a dd uc ed evi de nc es w hi ch s up por ts t he bo na f ide s of mo ne y bo r row ed . W e thu s r ev er se th e a cti on ta ke n b y t h e R eve nu e Au th oriti es un de r Sec ti on 6 8 of th e A ct an d res to re t he p osi ti on t ak en b y t he as se ss ee . 10. Gro u nd N o.1 of th e as se ss ee ’s ap pe al i s a ll ow ed. 11. Gro u nd No .2 c on cer ns i ntr od uc ti on of R s. 15 la kh t o t he pro pr ie to rs hip co nc ern wh ic h, in tur n, was cl ai me d t o b e re ce ive d f ro m the p art ne rs hi p f ir m. Th e C IT (A ) h as de ni ed any r eli ef to th e As ses se e o n th e af ore sa id a dd iti on s . Th e re as on s not ed b y th e CI T( A) in t hi s r eg a rd is n ot ed he re un d er: “ I n t h e c a s e o f i n t r o d u c t i o n o f C a p i t a l a s we l l t h e sa m e p a t t e r o f f u n d i n g i s s e e n i n so f a r c a s h i s d e p o si t e d i n th e B a n k a c c o u n t o f t h e l o a n c re d i t o r w h i c h i s a f a m i l y c o n ce rn M / s . A ri h a n t M e d i a p r o m o t e r s a n d t h e n t ra n s f e r re d t o t h e A p p e l l a n t . I.T.A. No.975/Del/2017 7 Cl e a rl y t h e l e n d e r d i d n o t h a v e t h e c a p a c i t y o r c r e d i t wo rt h i n e s s w h e n t h e c h e q u e o f R s. 1 5 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 / - wa s c r e d i t e d o n 3 1 . 0 3 . 2 0 1 2 a n d t h e i n st ru m e n t g o t c l e a re d i n t h e n e x t y e a r i n J u l y we l l b e y o n d t h e l e g a l v a l i d i t y o f t h e i n st ru m e n t wh i c h e x p i re d o n 3 0 . 0 6 . 2 0 1 2 wh i c h sh o w s t h e c o l l u si v e c h a ra c t e r o f t h e t ra n s a c t i o n a n d t h e i n v ol v e m e n t o f t h e b a n k i n g a u t h o ri t i e s. T h e c a s h o f R s. 1 5 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 / - d e p o s i t e d i n t wo i n st a l l m e n t s o f 8 l a c s a n d 7 l a c s i n t h e b a nk a c c o u n t o f t h e l o a n c r e d i t o r wa s e x a c t l y o f t h e s a m e v a l u e t h at wa s e x t e n d e d a s l o a n i n t h e p re c e d i n g f i n a n c i a l y e a r . Th u s, c o n s i d e r i n g t h e f a c t s a n d c i r c u m st a n c e s o f t h e c a se a n d t h e c o n s i d e r i n g t h e d u b i o u s n a t u re o f t r a n s a c t i o n s i n v ol v e d , I h a v e c o m p e l l e d t o c o n f i rm t h e a d d i t i o n o f R s . 1 5 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 / -. A c c o r d i n g l y , t h i s g r o u n d o f A p p e a l f a i l s . ” 12. The As se ss ee c ou ld not d is pl ace th e f indi ng s of CI T( A) e xce pt the cl ai m of tra nsf er of mo ne y t hr ou g h b an ki ng ch annel . No co ge nt exp la na ti on to war d s s our ce of ca sh d epo si ts in pa rtner s hip f i r m is ma de ava il ab le . T h e C IT (A) o bs erv ed f actu m of c as h dep osi ts in t he acc ou nt of cr ed it o r/p ar tn ers hi p f ir m wh ich c oul d not b e re bu tt ed . Nee dl es s to sa y, th e on us l ie s on t he ass es se e to exp la in the mon e y tra il to t he sa tisf a cti on of A ss es si ng Of f icer . I n ou r o pin io n, th e on us i s no t di sc ha r ged as r ig htl y c on c lud ed b y t he C IT (A ). W e th us dec li ne t o i nt erf er e wit h th e or der of th e C IT (A ). 13. Gro u nd N o.2 i s di s mi sse d. 14. In th e res ul t, t he ap pea l of th e as se ss ee is p ar tl y a ll ow ed . Order pronounced in the open Court on 16/06/2022. Sd/- Sd/- [SAKTIJIT DEY] [PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA] JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER DATED: /06/2022