Vaibhav Mittal Vs DCIT/ACIT (ITAT Indore)
ITAT Indore Dismisses Appeal Against Section 154 Order; Addition u/s 69A Cannot Be Challenged Through Rectification
The Indore Bench of the ITAT dismissed the assessee’s appeal and upheld the order passed by the CIT(A)-NFAC under section 154 read with section 250, holding that rectification proceedings cannot be used to challenge or review an addition made on merits. The case pertained to AY 2012-13, where the Assessing Officer, in a best judgment assessment under section 144, had made an addition of ₹1.26 lakh under section 69A on account of unexplained bank deposits, along with assessment of salary income.
Although the AO subsequently granted TDS credit through rectification, the assessee sought rectification of the section 69A addition as well. The ITAT noted that the assessee had failed to file a timely appeal against the original assessment order and instead repeatedly invoked section 154 before the AO and CIT(A), which is legally impermissible. Relying on the Supreme Court decision in T.S. Balaram v. Volkart Brothers, the Tribunal reiterated that section 154 is confined to patent and obvious mistakes and does not permit examination of factual issues, reappreciation of evidence, or adjudication requiring detailed reasoning.
The Tribunal held that the addition under section 69A was made due to non-compliance and failure to explain bank credits at the assessment stage, and any challenge thereto required a regular appellate remedy, not rectification. Since no “mistake apparent from record” was demonstrated, the rejection of rectification by the CIT(A) was upheld. Accordingly, the assessee’s appeal was dismissed in entirety
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT INDORE
