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2017 (5) TMI 1505 - HC - Income TaxRejection of books of accounts - non presenting true and correct picture - Held that:- Merely because of non maintenance of a detailed qualitative and quantitative register alone, the same could not be a valid reason to reach a finding that books of account do not present true and complete picture of accounts and financial transactions. The finding by the assessing authority being perverse is, therefore, set aside. Invoking provisions of section 145 - non verification of some of the vouchers relating to payment in respect of direct expenses - Held that:- The perusal of the impugned order reveals that this was only a prima facie view which the assessing authority entertained before issuing a show cause notice to the assessee for rejecting its accounts by invoking provisions of section 145(3) of the Act. He has not been able to point out as to which of these payments in respect of direct expenses could not be verified by him nor the Assessing authority is shown to have required the assessee to get payment of any specific amount of direct expenses verified. Merely for saying it could not be taken a lacuna in the books of account of the assessee and take the same as a reason for rejecting the books of account that were maintained by assessee in regular course of its business. Search proceedings revealed incriminating documents which contained nothings of receipt of cash "out of books" by the members of Unique Group of which the assessee is an important member - Held that:- There is also a feeble observation inthe orders of the authorities below for rejecting the accounts that in the trade of real estates 'notorious trade practices' are prevailing. The Ld. Counsel for the assessee has placed reliance on the judgment by Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Lalchand Bhagat Ambica Ram vs. CIT (1959 (5) TMI 12 - SUPREME Court) in which the practice of making additions in the assessment on mere suspicions and surmises or by taking note of the 'notorious trade practices' prevailing in trade circles has been disapproved. Having considered the aforesaid view, the finding of "on-money transactions" in the appellant's case by the authorities below is found without any basis and found perverse on facts. It, therefore, could not be a reason for rejecting the books of account maintained by the assessee in regular course of business. Assessee has not followed Accounting Standards 9 & 7 which tantamount to not following Accounting Standard-1 as prescribed under section 145(2) - Held that:- Completed contract method followed by the appellant, therefore, could not be faulted with by the revenue and the assumptions made by the Assessing Officer that by not following AS-9 & 7 the same tantamount to not following prescribed AS1 under section 145(2) of the Act are found misplaced, unnecessary and uncalled for besides being contrary to principles of interpretation of the statutory provisions. The same, therefore, could not be taken a valid basis for change of method regularly employed by the appellant. The Income-tax Authority, therefore, has no option or jurisdiction to meddle in the matter either by directing the assessee to maintain its account in a particular manner or adopting a different method for valuing work-inprogress. It also cannot recompute income by adopting any method other than that regularly employed by the assesseeappellant in a case like this nor make the same as basis to reject its accounts.
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