Pankajbhai Devrajbhai Soliya Vs NFAC (ITAT Surat)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Surat Bench, has overturned an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi, in the case of Pankajbhai Devrajbhai Soliya, for the assessment year (AY) 2017-18. The ITAT, in its order pronounced on January 16, 2025, remitted the appeal back to the CIT(A) for adjudication on merits, with a directive for the assessee to pay a cost of ₹15,000.
The case originated from an assessment order dated March 27, 2023, passed by the Assessing Officer (AO) for AY 2017-18. The AO had reopened the assessee’s case after receiving information about the purchase of extruder machinery for ₹33,60,000 in cash from Nirinbhai of Vapi. The assessee had initially filed a return of income declaring ₹6,55,880. Following the reopening, despite various opportunities provided, the assessee did not respond, leading the AO to add ₹33,60,000 as unexplained investment under Section 69 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Section 115BBE. Additionally, a deduction of ₹24,330 claimed under Section 80C was disallowed. Consequently, the AO assessed the total income at ₹40,40,210 against the returned income of ₹6,55,880 under Section 147 read with Section 144B of the Act.
