Dr. Pratap Pandharinath Patil Vs PCIT (ITAT Pune)
Assessee, Dr. Pratap Pandharinath Patil, filed appeal against the revisionary order u/s 263 passed by PCIT on 05.02.2025 setting aside the assessment framed u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 144B dated 12.09.2022. AO had examined agricultural income of Rs.53.02 lakh declared by Assessee, out of which receipts of Rs.38.46 lakh & expenditure of Rs.4.36 lakh were not substantiated. AO treated them as “Income from Other Sources” instead of invoking ss. 68 & 69C r.w.s. 115BBE.
PCIT, in revision, held that AO’s treatment was erroneous & prejudicial to Revenue since higher tax rate u/s 115BBE was not applied. He directed AO to reframe the assessment by invoking ss. 68 & 69C.
On appeal, Tribunal first condoned delay of 23 days in filing citing reasonable cause. It then examined merits & found that AO had issued repeated notices, verified landholding, crops (sugarcane, soybean, barley, groundnut, vegetables), bank statements & partial sale bills & finally took a conscious view taxing the receipts as “Income from Other Sources” with ad hoc disallowance of expenses. Tribunal held that once AO had made due enquiry & taken a plausible view, PCIT could not substitute his opinion merely because he preferred another route.
