Ranjay Kumar Diwakar Vs ITO (ITAT Patna)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Patna Bench, has remanded a case involving unexplained cash deposits of ₹2.15 crore during the demonetization period back to the Assessing Officer (AO). The Tribunal cited a lack of proper opportunity for the assessee to present his case before lower authorities, instructing the AO to conduct a fresh scrutiny after affording a reasonable hearing.
The appeal was filed by Ranjay Kumar Diwakar against an order dated September 12, 2023, by the National Faceless Appeal Centre (CIT(A)). The ITAT, after condoning a 79-day delay in filing the appeal due to the assessee’s stated serious medical condition, proceeded to adjudicate the case on its merits.
The genesis of the issue dates back to the assessment year 2017-18. Following a notice issued under Section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, which the assessee failed to respond to, the Assessing Officer initiated proceedings based on data analytics from ‘Operation Clean Money.’ It was found that the assessee had deposited ₹42,95,897 in his bank account during the demonetization period. Due to the continued non-compliance from the assessee, the AO treated the entire cash deposits across the assessee’s State Bank of India and Post Office accounts, totaling ₹2,15,03,053, as unexplained money and added it to the assessee’s total income. This assessment was made ex-parte under Section 144 of the Act.
