DCIT Vs Kiran Pal Khatana (ITAT Delhi)
No Addition u/s 69 When Property Payments Flow Through Explained Bank Accounts – ITAT Deletes ₹3.29 Crore Addition
The Delhi ITAT upheld the deletion of ₹3.29 crore addition made u/s 69 towards investment in two immovable properties, holding that once the payments were made through disclosed bank accounts and the credits in those bank accounts were never treated as unexplained, the Assessing Officer could not again treat the property investments as unexplained. The assessee had demonstrated that the properties were purchased through banking channels, including SBI loan proceeds and payments from disclosed SBI, HDFC and Axis Bank accounts. The Tribunal observed that the AO had not disputed the genuineness of the bank credits nor brought any material to show that the investments came from unaccounted sources.
The CIT(A), whose findings were affirmed by the Tribunal, held that the AO’s approach was based merely on presumption and lacked any incriminating material. However, based on a seized document reflecting separate “cash account” and “cheque account” entries for one of the properties, the CIT(A) sustained an addition of ₹44.32 lakh towards alleged cash payments, observing that once part of the seized document matched the registered sale deed details, the remaining contents relating to cash payments also carried evidentiary value under sections 132(4A) and 292C. Since the Revenue could not point out any perversity in the CIT(A)’s findings, the Tribunal dismissed the departmental appeal.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
