Shailesh Kumar Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
Delhi ITAT Quashes ₹6.11 Lakh Addition in 153A Assessment: No Incriminating Material, Abhisar Buildwell Applied
The Delhi Bench ‘B’ of the ITAT in allowed the Assessee’s appeal and deleted the addition of ₹6,11,153 sustained by the CIT(A), holding that no addition can be made u/s 153A in the absence of incriminating material found during search.
A search u/s 132 was conducted on 24.05.2017 in connection with the H.S. Tewari group, covering the Assessee. The AO completed assessment u/s 153A/143(3) by making an addition of ₹12,01,153 towards unexplained investment in construction. On appeal, the CIT(A) partly allowed relief but sustained addition of ₹6,11,153.
Before the Tribunal, the Assessee contended that the impugned addition was made dehors any incriminating material unearthed during search and relied on the Supreme Court judgment in PCIT vs. Abhisar Buildwell (2024) 2 SCC 433. The Tribunal found merit in the submission and noted that the assessment year in question was a completed/unabated assessment, and the AO had not relied on any incriminating material seized during the search.
Following the binding ratio of the Supreme Court in Abhisar Buildwell, the Tribunal held that in case of completed assessments, jurisdiction u/s 153A can be exercised only when incriminating material relating to that year is found during search. In the absence of such material, the addition could not be sustained.
Accordingly, the ITAT deleted the entire addition and allowed the Assessee’s appeal.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
