Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + AT Income Tax - 2023 (4) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2023 (4) TMI 625 - AT - Income TaxUnaccounted professional charges received in cash - Addition u/s 28 - difference between professional charges received and offered by the assessee as income - Addition on the basis of statement of the third party alone - search operations conducted by the Department in the case of M/s.Apollo Hospitals - assessee was working for M/s.Apollo Hospitals as Consultant and received professional charges on his own, which was not considered as receipts of M/s.Apollo Hospitals - HELD THAT:- We do not ourselves subscribe to the reasons given by AO to make additions towards unaccounted professional charges received in cash for simple reason that except statement of an employee recorded during the course of search, the AO has never brought on record any other evidence to support his finding that the assessee has received professional charges in cash from Apollo Hospitals. Explanation given by the assessee that additions cannot be made on the basis of number of patients registered with Apollo Hospitals appears to be reasonable and bonafide. AO never disproved claim of the assessee with any evidences, but went on to make additions only on the basis of statement of a third party, that too without providing evidences and opportunity of cross examination to the assessee in violation of principles of natural justice. It is well settled principles of law by the decision of M/s.Andaman Timber Industries Vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Kolkatta-II [2015 (10) TMI 442 - SUPREME COURT] where it was categorically held that not allowing assessee to cross examine witnesses by the adjudicating authority, though statements of those witnesses were made on the basis of impugned order is a serious flaw, which makes the order nullity, inasmuch as it amounted to violation of principles of natural justice, because of which the assessee was adversely affected. Therefore, we are of the considered view that no addition can be made on the basis of statement of the third party alone, without any corroborative evidence. We are of the considered view that the AO is completely erred in making addition towards difference amount of professional charges on the basis of Out Patients data collected from M/s.Apollo Hospitals and statement of Manager (Operations) Ms.Subhadra.G, without any corroborative evidence to suggest that the assessee has received so much professional charges from the Hospitals and further, the same has not been accounted in his books of accounts - assessee has analyzed Out Patients list given by the Hospitals with his books of accounts and also reconciled the amount of income accounted in his books of accounts for all these assessment years and claimed that income accounted by the assessee from M/s.Apollo Hospitals is more than the amount of income quantified by the AO from the list of Out Patients supplied by the Hospitals. AO is completely erred in making addition towards differential amount of professional charges u/s.28 - Decided in favour of assessee.
|