Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + AT Income Tax - 2022 (6) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2022 (6) TMI 1011 - AT - Income TaxAssessment u/s 153A - Whether incriminating material unearthed during the course of search or requisition of documents or undisclosed income or property discovered in the course of search? - HELD THAT:- Upon perusal of decision of Hon’ble Court in CIT V/s St. Francis Clay Décor Tiles [2016 (6) TMI 378 - KERALA HIGH COURT] we find that the said case is factually distinguishable. In that case, the admitted facts were that the Managing Partner of the assessee had given voluntary statement to the Assessing Officer that there was undisclosed income of Rs.2.75 Crores. The admission was retracted by the Managing Partner subsequently. On the basis of these facts, it was concluded by Hon’ble Court that since there was a disclosure made by giving a statement during the course of search and therefore, the Assessing Officer, by virtue of the power conferred on him under section 153A, was competent to issue notice under the said provision and require the assessee firm to furnish the returns as provided there-under. It was further held that neither under section 132 nor under section 153A, the phraseology "incriminating" is used by the Parliament. Therefore, any material which was unearthed during search operations or any statement made during the course of search by the assessee is a valuable piece of evidence in order to invoke the provisions of Section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. In the present case, no such admission is shown to have been made by the assessee. The revenue could not place any incriminating material before us which has led to the impugned additions / disallowances. So far as the decision of Hon’ble Delhi High Court in Filatex India Ltd. [2014 (8) TMI 387 - DELHI HIGH COURT] is concerned, we find that in that case Ld. AO, in the proceedings u/s 153A, had made several additions, relying upon the incriminating material found in the course of search. It was undisputed fact that there was incriminating material unearthed by the revenue including statement of Shri Sanjay Agrawal, GM (Marketing). It was never the case of the assessee that the initiation of proceedings u/s 153A was bad or unwarranted in law as no incriminating material was found during the search. Therefore, this decision, in our opinion, has no application to the present case before us. The impugned additions / disallowances are unsustainable in the eyes of law. We order so. The corresponding legal ground as raised by the assessee stand allowed which render other grounds merely academic in nature. Agricultural income - It is undisputed fact that the assessee is regularly earning this income since past several years. The assessee possesses agricultural land which fact has been accepted by Ld. CIT(A). The dispute is with regard to quantum of income only. CIT(A) has drawn a presumption that since the assessee’s land holding is 1/4th of land holding of Shri A.Vijaykant, the income should be considered as 1/4th income as shown by him. Since no agricultural income has been shown by assessee’s husband in this year, the entire income has been considered as ‘income from other sources’ which run contrary to the findings of Ld. CIT(A) that the assessee was in possession of land and it earned agricultural income out of the same. Simply because the assessee’s husband did not offer any agricultural income during the year, the assessee’s income could not be taken to be nil. Therefore, this addition has no legs to stand. We direct Ld. AO to treat the income of Rs.7.25 Lacs as agricultural income. The ground thus raised stand allowed. Business loss - We find as no business income has been reflected by the assessee in this year and therefore, the expenditure of Rs.1.09 Lacs is to be disallowed. In other words, business loss of Rs.1.09 Lacs would not be allowable to the assessee. The salary income would be taken as Rs.1.14 Lacs as accepted by Ld. AO. The slot fees of Rs.32.44 Lacs do not emanate from the return of income filed by the assessee. No such expenditure or income has been admitted. We find that there is no basis to make this addition and therefore, the same stand deleted. The appeal stand partly allowed.
|