Sohan Lal Yadav Vs ITO (ITAT Jaipur)
The appeal in the case of Sohan Lal Yadav vs ITO (ITAT Jaipur) concerned the addition of ₹52.78 lakh under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, relating to cash deposits made during the demonetization period in FY 2016-17. The assessee, an authorized petroleum dealer of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd operating a petrol pump at Sunel Road, Pirawa, Jhalawar, Rajasthan since 2005, had deposited cash totaling ₹52.78 lakh in his bank account. The Assessing Officer (AO) treated these deposits as unexplained income due to the absence of satisfactory documentary evidence uploaded on the ITBA portal and added the amount to the assessee’s income. The assessee responded with the original ITR, computation of income, and sale accounts, but the AO did not find the submissions sufficient and confirmed the addition. The assessee’s appeal to the CIT(A) was dismissed, prompting the present appeal before the ITAT Jaipur.
The ITAT reviewed the AO’s and CIT(A)’s orders and noted that the assessee’s books of accounts were reliable, with no deficiencies or errors identified under Section 145 of the Act. The Tribunal observed that all sales during the demonetization period were from stock already available and there was no issue regarding stock availability or sale transactions. Applying the AO’s logic for addition under Section 68 would effectively result in double taxation, as profits were already reflected in the declared sales.
