Ravinder Kumar Vs ITO (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Ravinder Kumar, an assessee, thereby upholding the additions made to his income by the tax authorities. The case, originating from the assessment year 2010-11, revolved around unexplained cash deposits totaling INR 15,86,000 in Kumar’s bank account, which he claimed were proceeds from a Kirana (general store) business. The High Court’s decision underscores the necessity for taxpayers to substantiate their claims with concrete evidence, particularly when faced with inquiries regarding the source of substantial cash transactions.
Assessment Initiated on Unexplained Deposits
The matter came to the attention of the Income Tax Department when the Assessing Officer (AO) received information through the Non-filers Monitoring System (NMS) indicating that Ravinder Kumar had not filed his Income Tax Return (ITR) for the assessment year 2010-11. A perusal of the Income Tax Statement (ITS) data revealed that Kumar had deposited INR 15,86,000 in cash into his bank account with Khatri Co-Op (U) Bank Ltd. between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010.
Based on this information, the AO reopened Kumar’s case under Section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and issued a notice under Section 148 on March 31, 2017. Subsequent notices under Section 142(1) were issued, fixing proceedings for October 17, 2017, and later for December 7, 2017. However, Ravinder Kumar consistently failed to appear or comply with these notices.
