ACIT Vs United Farm Product Pvt. Ltd. (ITAT Agra)
Loose Slip, No Signature, No Case- No Business, No Income, No 69C – Search Loose Sheet Not Linked to Assessee- Dumb Document Can’t Create Tax: ITAT Agra Deletes ₹43.71 Cr 69C Addition
Revenue appealed deletion of addition of ₹43,71,37,934/- made by AO u/s 69C, alleging unexplained cash expenditure for construction of Assessee’s Mewat plant based solely on certain loose slips & WhatsApp chats found during search in HMA Group.
Tribunal noted that the slips were unsigned, undated, did not mention Assessee, related mostly to next financial year, & key entries clearly pertained to HMA Agro, not the Assessee. Tribunal endorsed CIT(A)’s finding that figures in loose sheet did not match independent 3rd-party records like Yes Bank loan statements or HMA’s ledger, making the document a classic “dumb document” incapable of sustaining an addition without corroboration. As Assessee had not commenced business during AY 2022-23, there was no possibility of generating undisclosed income to incur such expenditure. AO also failed to show who incurred the alleged cash outflow, did not obtain valuation, & made addition on pure presumption. Since the same AO made no addition in hands of HMA Agro though sheets bore HMA’s name, inference against Assessee was unjustified. Tribunal upheld CIT(A)’s deletion & dismissed Revenue’s appeal.
