2012 (12) TMI 762 - HC - Income Tax

Unexplained income u/s 68 - CIT(A) deleted the addition - Held that:- An assessee’s duty to establish that the amounts which the AO proposes to add back, u/s 68 are properly sourced, does not cease by merely furnishing the names, addresses and PAN particulars, or relying on entries in a Registrar of Companies website. One must remember that in all such cases, more often than not, the company is a private one, and share applicants are known to it, since they are issued on private placement, or even request basis. If the assessee has access to the share applicant’s PAN particulars, or bank account statement, surely its relationship is closer than arm’s length. Its request to such concerns to participate in income tax proceedings, would, viewed from a pragmatic perspective, be quite strong, because the next possible step for the tax administrators could well be reopening of such investor’s proceedings.

That apart, the concept of “shifting onus” does not mean that once certain facts are provided, the assesse’s duties are over. If on verification, or during proceedings, the AO cannot contact the share applicants, or that the information becomes unverifiable, or there are further doubts in the pursuit of such details, the onus shifts back to the assessee. At that stage, if it falters, the consequence may well be an addition under Section 68.

As decided in A. Govindarajulu Mudaliar v CIT, (1958 (9) TMI 3 - SUPREME COURT) whether a receipt is to be treated as income or not, must depend very largely on the facts and circumstances of each case. There is ample authority for the position that where an assessee fails to prove satisfactorily the source and nature of certain amount of cash received during the accounting year, the Income-tax Officer is entitled to draw the inference that the receipt are of an assessable nature - Having regard to the totality of facts and circumstances, particularly the remand report, which was not considered by the CIT (A) and the ITAT in its proper perspective, this Court is of the opinion that the question of law requires to be answered in favour of the revenue.