S.S.S. Export Vs ITO (ITAT Chennai)
ITAT Chennai Remands Tax Appeal, Grants Assessee Another Chance to Prove Income Source
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Chennai, has granted a taxpayer, S.S.S. Export, an additional opportunity to provide evidence to support claims regarding cash deposits made during the demonetization period. The tribunal’s decision came in an appeal filed against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (CIT(A)), which had upheld an addition of ₹15 lakh to the assessee’s income under Section 69A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, treating it as unexplained money. The CIT(A) had previously dismissed the appeal for non-compliance with hearing notices.
The case, heard in Chennai, addressed two primary issues: the proper appeal fee for cases dismissed by the CIT(A) for non-prosecution and the substantive matter of the unexplained cash deposits.
The appellant, S.S.S. Export, challenged the CIT(A)’s order for the assessment year 2017-18. The core of the dispute was an addition of ₹15 lakh to the assessee’s total income by the Assessing Officer (AO). The AO had found that S.S.S. Export made cash deposits of ₹17,05,000 during demonetization. While the AO accepted a portion of the deposit, ₹2,00,000, as being from the assessee’s available cash-in-hand, the remaining ₹15 lakh was deemed unexplained and added to the assessee’s income under Section 69A. S.S.S. Export had not filed a return of income for the relevant year initially but did so after a notice was issued. The CIT(A) subsequently confirmed the AO’s addition and dismissed the appeal because the assessee did not respond to multiple hearing notices.
