Mahesh Kumar Gupta Vs ACIT (ITAT Jaipur)
The assessee appealed against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), which had upheld the Assessing Officer’s addition of ₹80 lakh under Section 68 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the invocation of Section 115BBE for Assessment Year 2017-18. The assessee, engaged in the wholesale and retail business of gold and silver ornaments through a proprietorship concern, had deposited ₹84 lakh in cash during the demonetisation period, including ₹80 lakh in a Yes Bank account on 15 November 2016. The case was selected for scrutiny under CASS owing to an abnormal increase in cash deposits during the demonetisation period.
During assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer sought details of the cash deposits, month-wise sales, stock and cash deposits, and copies of sale bills. The assessee explained that the increased cash deposits resulted from higher retail cash sales during the Diwali and marriage season and submitted sale bills, stock records and other details. The Assessing Officer, however, found the explanation unacceptable, observing that the cash deposited during November 2016 was substantially higher than the corresponding period of the previous year, that many sale bills below ₹2 lakh lacked names, addresses and contact details of purchasers, and that the genuineness of the sales could not be verified. The Assessing Officer treated ₹80 lakh as unexplained cash credit under Section 68 and applied Section 115BBE.
