TMI Blog2010 (7) TMI 211X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... while the Tribunal rejected. Held that - the assessee failed to produce books of account which may have been maintained during regular course of business or any other authentic contemporaneous evidence of agricultural income. Appeal dismissed. - 220 of 2010 - - - Dated:- 21-7-2010 - ADARSH KUMAR GOEL and AJAY KUMAR MITTAL JJ. Ms. Radhika Suri for the appellant. JUDGMENT The judgment of the court was delivered by 1. Adarsh Kumar Goel J.-This appeal has been preferred by the asses-see under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act") against the order dated June 18, 2008 passed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench in I. T. A. No. 224/Chd/2007, for the assessment year 2003-04, proposi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m the said statement by taking a stand that he had agricultural income to that effect and investment was from that source. He had done potato business which was evidenced by entries in a diary found during the survey. He also produced other evidence in support of his claim. The Assessing Officer rejected this stand holding that there was a long gap between the statement made originally on March 21, 2003 and retraction of the said statement on May 28, 2003, and the stand taken was an afterthought. Reliance was placed on the judgment of the Allahabad High Court in Dr. S. C. Gupta v. CIT [2001] 248 ITR 782. On appeal, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) upheld the plea of the assessee that earlier statement was incorrect and the resiled ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ngly made could be withdrawn. Reliance has also been placed on the judgment of the Madras High Court in CIT v. S. Khader Khan Son [2008] 300 ITR 157, to submit that the statement under section 133A stands on a different footing from the statement made under section 132(4) of the Act and had no evidentiary value, per se. 5. We do not find any merit in the submissions made. The Tribunal categorically held that in the facts and circumstances, the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) could not be upheld as retraction from the statement had to be at the earliest opportunity in the absence of which voluntary statement recorded in the presence of family members was an important material which could be acted upon. The relevant obser ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ore than two months. In such circum-stances, the view taken by the Tribunal that retraction from the earlier statement was not permissible, is definitely a possible view. The mere fact that some entries were made in a diary could not be held to be sufficient and conclusive to hold that the statement earlier made was false. The assessee failed to produce books of account which may have been maintained during regular course of business or any other authentic contemporaneous evidence of agricultural income. In the circumstances, the statement of the assessee could certainly be acted upon. 7. As regards the judgments in Pullangode Rubber Produce Co. [1973] 91 ITR 18 (SC) and Ester Industries Limited [2009] 316 ITR 260 (Delhi) relied upon by t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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