ITAT Visakhapatnam Judgments — July 2020

The Tribunal held that Section 68 applies to credits in the assessee's books of account, not bank accounts. Deposits in bank accounts should be taxed under Section 69. Therefore, the addition under Section 68 was unsustainable.

The Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s order, stating that reopening based on a difference of opinion after a conscious decision in the original assessment is not permissible. The rule of consistency was applied, as the assessee had consistently offered remuneration as income from other sources.

The Tribunal found that the CIT(A) had passed an ex-parte order. Following principles of natural justice, the Tribunal decided to give the assessee one more opportunity.

The Tribunal held that Section 269T is not applicable to interest payments. Following its previous decision, it ruled that penalty under Section 271E is not leviable for interest payments. Therefore, the order of the CIT(A) was upheld.