Sagar Kukreja Vs DCIT (ITAT Raipur)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Raipur dismissed the appeal of Sagar Kukreja against the addition of ₹81.44 lakh made by the Assessing Officer (AO) for alleged bogus purchases under Section 69C of the Income Tax Act. The dispute arose when the AO reopened the assessment under Section 147, citing information that the assessee had transactions with Moksh Alloys Pvt. Ltd., a company involved in fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims. The assessee argued that the transaction was a sale, not a purchase, and challenged the reopening of the assessment. However, during the assessment proceedings, the AO noted inconsistencies in the documents submitted and found that the assessee had not provided satisfactory evidence to substantiate his claims. The AO then determined the income at ₹1.07 crore, making an addition of ₹81.44 lakh as unexplained expenditure.
The assessee appealed before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), but failed to appear for multiple hearings or provide written submissions. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the AO’s decision. The case was then taken to ITAT Raipur, where the tribunal noted a 125-day delay in filing the appeal without a condonation request. As a result, the appeal was dismissed on procedural grounds. The tribunal emphasized that the onus was on the taxpayer to present necessary evidence and pursue their appeal actively. With the dismissal, the ₹81.44 lakh addition remains in effect.
