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2016 (5) TMI 861 - HC - Income TaxRelease of a sum seized while transporting cash from the customers of HDFC Bank - entire cash amount seized was attributed to the income of Mr. R.K. Seth - Held that:- There was failure on the part of the Department to discharge its basic responsibility of tracing the source of the cash. The Department was aware that Mr. Seth, one of the employees of SIPL had not accompanied the armoured vehicle. He reached the police station subsequent to the seizure and that too upon the insistence of the JDIT that someone from SIPL should be present before the JDIT to make a statement. In the circumstances, there was no occasion for the Department to assume that Mr. Seth himself was carrying the cash. To compound the error, the Department refused to admit to the mistake even when the full facts were placed before it. SIPL was performing a perfectly legitimate and legal task of collecting and transporting cash from the customers of HDFC to the Gandhi Nagar branch of HDFC. The entire service was being performed under a valid agreement. The HDFC also issued a confirmation letter. Despite this the Department made no enquiries with the HDFC Bank. Inexplicably the Investigation wing of the Department abdicated its basic responsibility and simply passed the buck to the AO. Mr R K Seth was only an employee of SIPL. He was not carrying the cash as was wrongly presumed by the AO. His statements offered a plausible explanation which could easily be verified. The Court fails to understand how the said sum could ever be added to the returned income of Mr Seth. The Court agrees with the learned counsel for SIPL that the indifferent and callous approach of the Department's officials has resulted in grave injustice to SIPL. It has had to have its account debited for the entire amount and the seized cash remained in the Department's account. The Court has, in the circumstances, no hesitation in holding the actions of the Department, in refusing to release the cash seized from the armoured vehicle to the Petitioner, to be invalid and illegal. The Department is directed to return to SIPL the entire seized amount of ₹ 60,48,748 together with interest @ 12% per annum from the date of seizure of the cash i.e., 9th January 2012 till the date of return which in any event shall take place not later than two weeks from today. The Department will also pay SIPL ₹ 1 lakh as costs within the same period. - Decided in favour of assessee
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