Jyoti Ahuja Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
The ITAT Delhi allowed the assessee’s appeal and deleted addition of ₹1.80 crore made u/s 69A alleging unexplained cash used for foreign remittance through alleged accommodation entry operators. The AO had relied mainly on the statement of a third party (Sanjay Garg) and investigation findings regarding import-related transactions. However, the Tribunal observed that the matter was selected for scrutiny to verify commission income and there was no evidence that the assessee had imported goods, held import licence, or carried on any business activity.
The Tribunal held that addition cannot be sustained merely on suspicion or third-party statements without corroborative evidence or independent enquiry. It noted that the assessee appeared only to be a pass-through facilitator earning commission income already offered to tax, and entire remittance amount could not be added in her hands. Accordingly, in absence of concrete material linking the assessee to alleged bogus import transactions, the addition u/s 69A was deleted and the appeal was allowed.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
1. The assessee has filed appeal against the order of the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)/National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi [“Ld. CIT (A)”, for short] dated 19.05.2025 for the Assessment Year 2022-23.
