Shruthi Kishore Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
ITAT Bangalore held that cash gifts received from relatives and friends during wedding cannot be treated as unexplained money u/s. 69A of the Income Tax Act merely because each donor is not individually verified. Accordingly, addition directed to be deleted.
Facts- Present appeal is preferred by the assessee. The issue raised by the assessee is that the learned CIT(A) erred in confirming the addition of ₹10 lakhs by the treating the cash deposit as unexplained money under section 69A of the Act and erred in not providing the deduction under section 80TTA of the Act for ₹10,000/-.
Conclusion- Held that wedding gifts, particularly cash gifts from relatives and friends, cannot be treated as unexplained merely because each donor is not individually verified. In such circumstances, the addition made under section 69A of the Act is not sustainable and deserves to be deleted.
We also accept the assessee’s claim under section 80TTA of the Act for the deduction of ₹10,000/- against interest income from a savings bank account. The assessee voluntarily disclosed the interest income during the appellate stage and corrected the earlier omission. The law permits such deductions, and there is no bar in admitting a new claim at the appellate stage. In view of the above detailed discussion, we hereby set aside the finding of the learned CIT(A) and direct the AO to delete the addition of ₹10 Lakh made on account of cash deposit and also allow the deduction of ₹10000/- under section 80TTA against the interest income earned from saving bank account.
