Madhuri Jaiswa Vs DCIT/ACIT (ITAT Agra)
Cash Deposits from Hospital Receipts Explained; ₹30 Lakh Addition u/s 68 Deleted for Demonetisation Period – ITAT Agra
The Agra Bench of the ITAT allowed the appeal of a medical practitioner running a nursing home and deleted the addition of ₹30 lakh made under section 68 on account of alleged unexplained cash deposits during the demonetisation period for AY 2017-18.
The assessee had deposited ₹31.86 lakh in OBC and ₹4 lakh in Canara Bank, explaining that the cash represented consultation fees, OPD collections and patient discharge receipts, all duly recorded in the cash book, OPD receipts, patient register and hospital records. The Assessing Officer, after comparing deposits with earlier years, arbitrarily treated ₹30 lakh as unexplained and allowed only ₹5.86 lakh as normal receipts.
The Tribunal observed that:
- The assessee had produced complete contemporaneous records (cash book, OPD cash memos, patient register, discharge summaries),
- There was substantial increase in medical collections, which is normal in professional practice and cannot be benchmarked rigidly with earlier years, and
- The AO never rejected the books of account nor disproved the genuineness of receipts.
It was further noted that the remand report was not shared with the assessee, violating principles of natural justice, and that taxing hospital receipts again under section 68 amounted to double taxation of already disclosed business income.
Accordingly, holding that the source of cash deposits stood fully explained, the ITAT deleted the entire addition of ₹30 lakh and allowed the appeal in full.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT AGRA
