ITO Vs Ajay Singh (ITAT Agra)
ATM Cash, Not Assessee’s Cash – ITAT Agra Upholds Deletion of ₹8.84 Cr Addition Made on Bank Error
Revenue challenged CIT(A)’s order deleting ₹8.84 crore added u/s 69A, which AO treated as unexplained money based on large cash transactions in Assessee’s bank-linked accounts. AO found cash deposits & withdrawals of ₹8.81 crore from Punjab & Sind Bank accounts & , in the absence of a return or explanation, taxed the same as unexplained money u/s 69A r.w.s. 115BBE.
Before CIT(A), Assessee produced proof showing he was an employee of ISS SDB Security Services Pvt. Ltd., engaged in ATM cash replenishment for Punjab & Sind Bank. The bank itself confirmed that the transactions belonged to ATM operations & that Assessee’s PAN was mistakenly linked with the ATM cash accounts. Accepting these evidences, CIT(A) deleted the addition.
ITAT noted that Revenue failed to rebut these findings & that CIT(A) had verified the bank certificates & employment documents before granting relief. Since Assessee was merely a salaried employee handling cash on behalf of the bank, the deposits could not be treated as his income.
Held: Cash withdrawals & deposits reflected due to bank’s PAN-tagging error; addition u/s 69A rightly deleted.
