Landmark Cases on Evidence, Onus and Natural Justice
858 decisions, ranked by how many judgments on BharatTax rely on them.
Courts expect parties seeking relief to make a full and fair disclosure of all material facts, and failure to do so may lead to dismissal without entering into the merits of the case.
Assessments relying solely on affidavits without cross-examination of deponents may be flawed, as the Assessing Officer (AO) failed to appreciate such affidavits confirming no cash transactions.
Once a presumption under Section 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is given effect to, the court must proceed on the premise that the cheque was issued in discharge of a debt or liability, shifting the focus to the case set up by the accused. The accused can rebut this presumption either by leading defence evidence to conclusively establish the non-existence of the debt/liability, or by showing the same by a preponderance of probabilities.
The burden of proving the identity, creditworthiness, and genuineness of the transaction rests on the assessee when claiming capital introduced by partners or creditors. The assessee must provide sufficient evidence, including book entries, creditor confirmations, and the creditors' income tax returns.
A decision relied upon by the Revenue is distinguishable if the present case lacks a search on the assessee and independent inquiry by the AO on information received from a third-party search.
Income-tax authorities cannot make additions for unexplained investment solely based on seized documents without supporting evidence or material. Similarly, penalties levied on estimations can only be sustained if supported by relevant judicial considerations.
Additions under Section 69 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, cannot be made solely based on an admission made by a partner before Central Excise authorities if a copy of the statement was not provided to the assessee. The burden of proof lies on the department to demonstrate that the remitted amount belonged to the assessee by presenting proper evidence.
Additions to an assessee's income based on foreign bank account information cannot be sustained if the foreign banking authority has not responded to revenue's requests for documentation. Furthermore, the Assessing Officer must consider Section 159 concerning the liability of a representative assessee in case of the assessee's death.
