Dashrath Balwant Barne HUF Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
Pune ITAT Restores ₹50 Lakh Section 69A Addition for Fresh Verification After Assessee Produces Evidence of Loan Received on Behalf of HUF Karta
The Pune ITAT held that an addition of ₹50 lakh under section 69A required fresh examination, where the assessee produced documentary evidence before the Tribunal indicating that the amount was received from a partnership firm on behalf of the HUF’s Karta and was subsequently repaid. The Tribunal first condoned the delay of 168 days in filing the appeal, accepting that the assessee had established sufficient cause. On merits, it noted that the Assessing Officer had treated the credit of ₹50 lakh as unexplained because no documentary evidence had been furnished during the assessment to establish its nature and source. Before the Tribunal, however, the assessee produced a confirmation from M/s. Shree Anand Venkateshwara Construction, copies of the lender’s income-tax return, computation, bank statement, and evidence showing that the amount had been repaid in the subsequent financial year, contending that the identity, creditworthiness and genuineness of the transaction stood established. Since these documents had not been placed before the Assessing Officer or the CIT(A), the Tribunal set aside the orders of the lower authorities and restored the matter to the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer for de novo adjudication, directing the Assessing Officer to verify the evidence, examine the true nature and source of the receipt, and decide the issue in accordance with law after granting the assessee a reasonable opportunity of hearing.
