AMAN AND AAKASH ENTERPRISES,GONDA vs. ASSESSMENT UNIT, NFAC/ITO, GONDA

PER SUDHANSHU SRIVASTAVA, J.M.:

This appeal has been preferred by the Assessee against the order dated 29.12.2025, passed by the National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi (NFAC) for Assessment Year 2023-24.

2.0 The brief facts of the case are that the assessee is a Partnership Assessed as Such (PFAS) consisting of two partners, namely Shri Bheemsham Kumar Mishra and Shri Rajesh Kumar. The assessee had filed its return of income for the year under consideration on 30.07.2022 declaring a total income of Rs.571/-. The case of the assessee was selected for scrutiny under Computer-Assisted Scrutiny Selection (CASS) for the reason “Aggregate of Cash withdrawals by the assessee during

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the year as reported in SFT-004 and SFT-003 or TDS statement u/s 194N is very large as compared to the sales and low PBIT (Profile before Interest and taxes) has been shown. The nature of cash withdrawals, correctness of turnover disclosed and correctness of PBIT may be verified.” The AO noticed from the return of income filed by the assessee that the assessee had booked Revenue from Operation at Rs.2,53,008/- and Form 26AS reflected that the assessee had received Rs.2,46,924/- as contractual receipts. The AO noted that as per data available in Form 61, the assessee, during the year under consideration, had maintained a Current Account No.756820110000299 with Bank of India, Sakraura, P.O. Karnailganj, U.P. from which there was cash withdrawals of Rs.14,64,20,000/-. The Assessing Officer (AO) issued statutory Notices to the assessee. However, there was no response from the side of the assessee. The AO thereafter issued Notice under section 133(6) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter called 'the Act’) to the concerned Bank of India, but there was no response to this Notice from Bank of India also. Since there was no response from the side of the assessee, the AO held that the nature of the deposits prior to the withdrawal of Rs.14,64,20,000/- in cash was totally unexplained. The AO, accordingly, added the same to the total income of the assessee under section 69A of the Act. The AO completed the assessment

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under section 144 read with section 144B of the Act, assessing the total income of the assessee at Rs.14,64,20,571/-.

2.1 The AO also invoked the provisions of section 115BBE of the Act and initiated penalty proceedings under section 272A(1)(d) of the Act, separately.

2.2 Aggrieved, the Assessee preferred an appeal before the NFAC, which dismissed the appeal of the assessee for the reason of there being a delay of 169 days in filing of the appeal before the Ld. First Appellate Authority.

2.3 Now the assessee has approached this Tribunal challenging the order of the NFAC, by raising the following grounds of appeal:

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record any cogent material in support of the addition which was made merely on presumptions and surmises. 3. That the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), NFAC has erred in law and on facts in arbitrarily upholding the addition of Rs.14,64,20,000 u/s 69A of the I.T. Act, 1961 and the consequential tax u/s 115 BBE, by treating the entire cash withdrawal from the bank account as unexplained income of the assessee, without considering that such withdrawals were made in the regular course of business for the purpose of replenishment in ATMs as part of the services provided by the appellant to the Bank, and withdrawal were duly reflected in the current account maintained with the Bank, and are therefore unjustified, arbitrarily and based merely on surmises and conjectures. 4. That the appellant craves permission for amending the aforesaid grounds of appeal and/or for raising fresh grounds of appeal. 3.0 The Ld. Authorized Representative for the assessee (Ld. A.R.) submitted before us that the NFAC dismissed the appeal of the assessee for the reason of there being a delay in filing of the appeal and has passed an order ex-parte qua the assessee, arbitrarily upholding the order passed by the AO. The Ld. A.R. further submitted that the AO also had not allowed adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee and had passed the impugned assessment order under section 144 read with section 144B of the Act, without bringing on record any material in support of the addition which was made on the basis of

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presumption and surmises only. The Ld. A.R., therefore, prayed that, in the interest of justice, the matter may be restored to the file of the AO for deciding the same afresh after providing reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee. He submitted that the assessee undertakes to produce all the relevant documents in support of the cash deposits made in his bank accounts, before the AO.

4.0 The Ld. Sr. D.R. objected to the restoration of appeal to the file of the Assessing Officer and submitted that the appeal of the assessee be dismissed.

5.0 We have heard both the parties and have also perused the material on record. Looking into the facts of this case and the undertaking given by the Ld. A.R. in open Court to produce all the relevant documents before the AO, we are of the considered view that the assessee deserves one last opportunity to present its case and, therefore, in the interest of substantial justice, we restore this file to the Office of the AO with the direction to provide one more opportunity to the assessee to present its case along with necessary evidences in support of the cash withdrawals from his bank accounts. We also caution the assessee to fully comply with the directions of the AO in the set- aside proceedings when called upon to do so, failing which, the

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AO would be at complete liberty to pass the order in accordance with law, based on the material available on record even if it is ex-parte qua the assessee.

6.0 In the final result, the appeal of the assessee stands allowed for statistical purposes.

Order pronounced in the open Court on 08/07/2026.

Sd/- Sd/- [NIKHIL CHOUDHARY] [SUDHANSHU SRIVASTAVA] ACCOUNTANT MEMBER JUDICIAL MEMBER

DATED:08/07/2026 JJ: Copy forwarded to: 1. Appellant 2. Respondent 3. CIT 4. DR By order Assistant Registrar/DDO