Vakil Ahmed Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Old Wedding Jewellery and Cash Traced to Bank Withdrawals Cannot Be Added on Mere Suspicion: Delhi ITAT
NIA Search Led to Two Additions
In Vakil Ahmed v. ITO (ITA No. 2550/Del/2026, assessment year 2019–20), the Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal examined additions arising from a search conducted by the National Investigation Agency on 23 January 2019. The agency found jewellery weighing approximately 3.9 kg and ₹21 lakh in cash at the assessee’s premises. Following reassessment, the Assessing Officer treated jewellery valued at ₹92 lakh and the entire cash amount as unexplained. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld both additions.
The dispute before the Tribunal was whether the assessee’s explanation could be rejected because he lacked old purchase bills for the jewellery and had not spent cash withdrawn from bank accounts soon after withdrawing it.
Jewellery Kept by Married Daughters at Their Parental Home
The assessee said the jewellery belonged to his late wife and three married daughters. He gave a person-wise account of the ornaments and explained that they had been received as gifts from relatives and in-laws at weddings held in 1974, 2001, 2004 and 2005. He also produced affidavits from family members and wedding photographs showing some of the ornaments.
