SMT LEELA DEVI BUMB vs. I T O WARD-1 BEAWAR

Facts

The assessee, Smt. Leela Devi Bumb, is appealing an order dated December 8, 2017, passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Jaipur Bench, which dismissed her appeal. The dispute pertains to Assessment Year 2012-13. The Assessing Officer (AO) made an addition of Rs. 56,30,000/- to the assessee's income for an unexplained cash deposit in her bank account. The assessee's appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and subsequently before the ITAT were unsuccessful. The present appeal is before the High Court against the ITAT's order.

Held

The Tribunal set aside its earlier order and remitted the matter back to the ITAT to decide the appeal afresh. The High Court noted that from the orders of the CIT(A) and the Tribunal, it was not evident that the documents claimed to have been produced before the AO and Appellate Authority were considered. Both the CIT(A) and the Tribunal had dismissed the appeal, holding that no documentary evidence was adduced by the appellant to explain the cash deposit. The High Court clarified that it was not commenting on whether these documents were indeed produced before the AO or Appellate Authority, nor on the implications of not filing original affidavits if required. The substantial question of law was answered in favour of the appellant.

Key Issues

1. Whether the learned Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was justified in law in not assigning any reason for not taking on record the additional documentary evidence which was filed by the appellant before the CIT (Appeal) but not taken into consideration by the First Appellate Authority. Assessee's Contentions: The appellant argued that a copy of the computation, balance sheet, list of parties who suffered losses/gains, an affidavit of the assessee, affidavits of clients with bills and receipts, and statements of parties were submitted before the AO/CIT(A). These documents were intended to explain the cash deposit of Rs. 56,30,000/-. The appellant relied on Annexure-3, an index of the paper book filed before the Tribunal, which indicated that these documents were furnished during assessment proceedings. Revenue's Contentions: The respondent contended that the relevant documents for explaining the additions were never produced either before the Assessing Officer or before the Appellate Authority.