Narendra Mahadev Awate Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
Possible Double Addition and Contra Bank Entries Ignored: Pune ITAT Restores ₹68.65 Lakh Addition for Fresh Verification
In Narendra Mahadev Awate v. ITO, information obtained during a search on Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. indicated substantial transactions in the assessee’s online-gaming accounts. On examining his bank accounts, the Assessing Officer made additions aggregating to ₹68.65 lakh under section 68 read with section 115BBE, comprising loans from friends and relatives, funds invested in online gaming, a cash gift from agriculturist parents and other alleged unsecured loans. The Assessing Officer also denied the standard deduction under section 16 for want of Form 16, salary slips and employer confirmation.
The assessee contended that the authorities had incorrectly included contra entries and inter-account transfers as unexplained credits. He further claimed that unsecured loans aggregating to approximately ₹33.45 lakh had effectively been added twice—first as the source of online-gaming investments and again as separate bank credits.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee furnished bank-wise transaction details, creditor names, PANs, addresses, loan movements and income-tax acknowledgements of major lenders. He sought an opportunity to reconcile every debit, credit and contra entry.
Considering the possibility of duplication and incorrect treatment of bank transfers, the Pune ITAT restored the entire matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh examination. The assessee was granted one final opportunity to establish the salary claim, reconcile the bank accounts and prove the identity and creditworthiness of lenders and genuineness of the loan transactions.
