RC Heights Pvt. Ltd. Vs DCIT/ACIT (ITAT Rajkot)
In this case, the ITAT Rajkot deleted additions made on alleged unaccounted cash receipts, holding that excel sheets found from third-party premises without corroboration are mere “dumb/dump documents” with no evidentiary value.
The Tribunal observed that:
- The entire addition was based on an unsigned excel sheet seized from a third party,
- The document did not contain the assessee’s name or signature,
- No independent corroborative evidence was brought on record to prove actual receipt of cash, and
- No opportunity of cross-examination of the third party was provided.
The ITAT emphasized:
- Cross-examination is mandatory when relying on third-party material,
- Loose sheets / digital data without authentication cannot be sole basis of addition, and
- Suspicion, conjecture, or assumptions cannot replace evidence.
Relying on multiple Supreme Court and High Court rulings, the Tribunal held that:
- Such documents are “dump documents”,
- They cannot establish real income, and
- No addition can be sustained without nexus and corroboration.
Accordingly:
- Entire addition was deleted,
- Revenue’s appeal was dismissed, and
- Assessee’s appeals were allowed.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT RAJKOT
Captioned five appeals filed by the different Assessees and one cross appeal filed by the Revenue, pertaining to assessment year ( A.Y.) 2019-20 to 2022-23, are directed against the separate orders passed by the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-11, [in short ‘the Ld. CIT(A)’], under section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short, ‘the Act’), which in turn arise out of separate assessment orders passed by the assessing officer.
