Mohd. Farooque Mohd. Rafique Bagban Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
Pune: The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Pune bench, has remitted the case of Mohd. Farooque Mohd. Rafique Bagban, a fruit seller, back to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] for fresh consideration after the assessee’s appeals against a significant tax addition and penalties were dismissed due to a considerable delay in filing. The assessee attributed the delay of approximately 13 months to his and his family’s severe illness due to COVID-19.
The case originated from the assessment year 2018-19. Mohd. Farooque Mohd. Rafique Bagban, identifying himself as a fruit seller operating on a commission basis, had filed his income tax return declaring an income of Rs. 8,21,210. However, the case was selected for limited scrutiny. During the assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer (AO) observed that the assessee had made substantial cash deposits totaling over Rs. 9.79 crore in various bank accounts.
The AO noted the lack of compliance from the assessee to statutory notices and the absence of maintained books of account. Consequently, based on the available information and the significant cash deposits, the AO made an addition of Rs. 78,39,472 to the assessee’s income, applying a rate of 8% on the total observed turnover of Rs. 9,79,93,395.
