Rajesh Agarwal Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
CA’s Professional Role Misread — ITAT Deletes ₹50 Lakh Estimated Addition for Lack of Evidence; ITAT Deletes Estimated ₹50 Lakh Addition Made Without Basis or Proof; Addition Deleted as AO Made Income Estimate Without Any Supporting Evidence; Tribunal Deletes Addition Made Merely Because of Power of Attorney Connection.
Assessee, a practicing Chartered Accountant, filed a return declaring ₹7.32 lakh income. AO, alleging that Assessee was linked with bogus share transactions through persons Mukesh Kumar & Deepak Aggarwal, made an ad hoc addition of ₹50 lakh as estimated income from such alleged dealings, without any concrete evidence.
CIT(A) remitted the matter to AO for fresh assessment, against which Assessee appealed before ITAT.
Tribunal’s Findings
- AO had no incriminating material or specific evidence linking the assessee to any bogus transactions.
- The Power of Attorney executed by the assessee for those individuals was merely in his professional capacity & could not justify addition in his own hands.
- The entire addition was purely on estimation, based on suspicion & assumptions.
- As the assessee’s declared income was supported by regular books & no adverse material was found, the estimation was arbitrary & unsustainable.
ITAT deleted the ₹50 lakh addition, holding the assessment without basis or evidence.
