Amol Ceramica Private Limited Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
Assessee appealed against the NFAC (CIT(A)) order dated 05.02.2025 confirming an addition of ₹50,00,000 u/s 68 as unexplained cash credit, arising from a purported loan received from M/s Aneri Fincap Ltd., a company later identified by the Department as a paper entity providing accommodation entries.
AO had reopened the assessment on the basis of information received from the Investigation Wing, Mumbai, following a search on One World Group, where statements of Shri Rajesh G. Mehta revealed that several shell companies-including Aneri Fincap Ltd.-were being used to route bogus loans. AO found that Assessee’s books did not disclose this ₹50 lakh loan, even though Assessee admitted to having received it through RTGS in its Axis Bank account.
When questioned, Assessee claimed that it was a business loan from a registered NBFC, duly confirmed by ledger accounts & bank entries. However, AO held that the transaction lacked genuineness since the lender’s creditworthiness was unproved, the loan was omitted from the audited balance sheet, & no explanation was offered regarding this non-disclosure. Accordingly, AO added ₹50 lakh u/s 68 read with Section 115BBE.
CIT(A), NFAC upheld the addition, emphasizing that Aneri Fincap Ltd. was a shell company managed by Rajesh Mehta, & that mere banking channels & ROC registration do not establish genuineness or creditworthiness.
