Naresh Bhavanji Chheda Vs ACIT (ITAT Mumbai)
ITAT Deletes Section 69A Additions Due to Lack of Corroborative Evidence; No Section 69A Addition Without Physical Cash Found During Search: ITAT; ITAT Rejects Additions Based Solely on Third-Party Search Material; Denial of Cross-Examination Makes Tax Addition Unsustainable: ITAT Mumbai; Uncorroborated Mobile Phone Entries Cannot Support Tax Addition: ITAT; ITAT Holds Presumption Under Sections 132(4A) and 292C Limited to Document Holder; Section 69A Cannot Apply to Alleged Receipts Not Physically Found: ITAT
In the case of Naresh Bhavanji Chheda Vs ACIT, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai, dealt with cross appeals filed by both the Revenue and the assessee for AY 2021-22. The dispute concerned four additions made by the Assessing Officer (AO) under Section 69A of the Income Tax Act on the basis of statements of third parties and WhatsApp chats.
The assessee was engaged in the business of real estate development and was also a partner in certain partnership firms. A search action under Section 132 was conducted on 23-09-2021 in the case of a group of middlemen/businessmen, and the assessee was also covered in the search. Based on material found during the searches, the AO made four additions under Section 69A aggregating to substantial amounts.
