ITO Vs Smt. Sunita Gadde (ITAT Delhi)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Delhi decided a Revenue appeal and an assessee’s cross-objection for AY 2012–13 arising from reassessment proceedings under sections 143(3) read with 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Revenue challenged the relief granted by the CIT(A) deleting additions relating to alleged cash transactions connected with sale and purchase of immovable properties.
The first issue concerned an addition of ₹2,70,50,000 made by the Assessing Officer on account of alleged cash or “on-money” received on sale of a property at Dera Mandi, Mehrauli, Delhi. The Tribunal noted that an identical issue had already been examined in the buyer’s case, where it was held that the allegation of cash payment was not supported by any corroborative material. Following that decision, the Tribunal held that reviving the same addition in the hands of the seller lacked merit and rejected the Revenue’s ground.
The second major issue related to deletion of an addition of ₹2,72,50,000 alleged to have been paid in cash for purchase of a property at Village Chhatarpur, Delhi. The CIT(A) had recorded that the purchase transaction stood cancelled through a duly executed cancellation deed. It was further noted that the Assessing Officer’s assumption that the alleged cash payment was sourced from cash received on another property sale was untenable, as the corresponding cash receipt addition had already been deleted by the Tribunal and the Department’s appeal against that deletion had been dismissed by the jurisdictional High Court. The CIT(A) therefore held that the addition was unsustainable.
