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2018 (1) TMI 333 - ITAT MUMBAIAdditions on the basis of forced statements made during survey action u/s. 133A - addition on account of alleged discrepancies in the books - addition on the basis of loose paper - unaccounted expenditure - cash transactions - retracted statements - Held that:- CIT-A has rightly appreciated the stand of the assessee in deleting the additions as the revenue has no cogent incriminating materiel with it to justify the addition of ₹ 1.2 crores apart from the forced confessional statement which is involuntary in nature. The loose document impounded being page no 175 during survey operations is held by us to be dumb document which is alleged by the assessee to have been prepared at the time of survey itself at the behest of survey team to justify surrender of concealed income. The said statement as well material on record keeping in view the entire factual spectrum of the case does not inspire confidence to justify the additions as was made by the AO and in our considered view the learned CIT(A) has rightly appreciated the entire factual matrix of the case and deleted the additions vide his appellate order. In the instant case, if we eschew the said retracted forced confession from record, then we are afraid there are no incriminating material on record to justify additions as was made by the AO which learned CIT(A) has rightly appreciated in deleting the additions vide his appellate orders. The Revenue in the instant case has not even bothered to cross examine the partner of the assessee post retraction of his statement. The retraction has been made by the assessee within 10 days of the aforesaid alleged forced statement and writ petition has also been filed with Hon‟ble Bombay High Court. There are several letters written by the assessee to various authorities within Income Tax Department including CBDT alleging that the statement was obtained forcibly by survey team . These correspondences/writ petition sans absence of cogent incriminating material on record to prejudice the assessee speak loudly and points to one and only one irresistible conclusion that Revenue has obtained forced confession from the assessee to surrender income of ₹ 1.20 crores and we have no hesitation in confirming the well reasoned order of the Ld. CIT-A which we affim/sustain. - Decided against revenue
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