Anthony Rockey Avera Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
Section 69A & The Credit Card That Paid Students’ Exam Fees – Fresh Evidence Earns A Fresh Hearing, Not Instant Deletion
₹11.17 lakh credit-card payments questioned
The AO noticed payments aggregating to ₹11,17,000 through the assessee’s SBI credit card. Since the assessee did not satisfactorily explain the source of the cash utilised for settling the credit-card bills, the AO treated the amount as unexplained & made an addition u/s 69A.
The assessee did not make proper compliance or furnish sufficient documentary evidence during the assessment proceedings. The CIT(A) consequently confirmed the addition.
Before the ITAT, the assessee produced an affidavit, credit-card statements, bank statements & details explaining the commercial background of the transactions. He requested admission of these documents as additional evidence & restoration of the issue to the AO for verification.
A new educational venture behind the transactions
The assessee explained that he had set up a company named ASA Technology together with one Vineet Raghavan, who possessed experience in educational tie-ups & coordination of students for practical training programmes.
Since the company was newly established, it did not satisfy certain eligibility or operational requirements for making international payments.
Various students were required to pay examination fees in US dollars, and such payments could be made only through international credit cards. The students therefore approached the assessee to facilitate payment of their examination fees.
