Bihariji Consultancy Pvt Ltd Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi, heard connected appeals relating to assessment orders passed under Sections 143(3) and 154 of the Income Tax Act for Assessment Year 2014-15. The Assessing Officer had treated losses arising from the sale of shares of SRK Industries Ltd. as bogus, relying heavily on an Investigation Wing report and treating the scrip as a suspicious penny stock transaction. The assessee argued that the transactions were not properly verified and relied on the coordinate bench ruling in Vishwas Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd. vs. ITO, where a similar issue had been remitted back to the Assessing Officer for fresh examination.
The Tribunal observed that the facts were similar to the earlier precedent and noted that the Assessing Officer had relied mainly on the Kolkata Investigation Wing report without adequately verifying the transactions undertaken by the assessee. The Tribunal also referred to information obtained through the Right to Information Act, which, according to the earlier decision, went to the root of the investigation. Accordingly, the Tribunal restored the issue to the file of the Assessing Officer for denovo assessment after granting proper opportunity of hearing and considering all relevant material.
