Sarojini Devi Budda Vs ITO (ITAT Visakhapatnam)
Summary: The assessee filed her return for AY 2013-14 declaring income of ₹2 lakh. Based on information that ₹28 lakh had been credited to her Andhra Bank account, the assessment was reopened under Section 147, and the Assessing Officer, after the assessee failed to furnish supporting evidence for the deposits, treated the entire amount as unexplained cash credits under Section 68; the CIT(A) confirmed the addition. Before the Tribunal, the assessee contended, among other things, that she was a commission agent in the jaggery business, that the deposits represented farmers’ sale proceeds routed through her bank account and that only 2% commission was earned, and specifically argued that Section 68 could not apply because she did not maintain books of account and the addition was based on the bank statement. The Visakhapatnam ITAT considered the decision in Vangapandu Prem Kumar v. ITO and the line of authorities concerning whether a bank passbook or bank statement constitutes the assessee’s books for Section 68. The Tribunal held that the addition of ₹28 lakh under Section 68, made on the basis of cash deposits into the assessee’s bank account, was unsustainable and directed the Assessing Officer to delete it. The Tribunal accordingly allowed the appeal, without adjudicating the assessee’s grounds on merits and other grounds after deleting the addition under Section 68.
