Hotel New Niyaz Vs ACIT (ITAT Panaji)
The ITAT Panaji dealt with a common order concerning six stay applications and five appeals filed by M/s. Hotel New Niyaz for different assessment years. The assessee challenged the validity of proceedings under Sections 147/148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 through additional grounds. The Revenue objected that these grounds were raised belatedly. The Tribunal rejected the objection, relying on the Special Bench decision in All Cargo Global Logistics Ltd. vs. DCIT [2012] 137 ITD 287 [Mum.] [SB] and the Supreme Court decision in National Thermal Power Co. Ltd. vs. CIT [1998] 229 ITR 383 [SC], holding that a pure legal question could be entertained where the relevant facts were already on record.
The reassessment proceedings arose from a survey conducted at Hotel New Niyaz, Belagavi on 18.07.2017. During the survey, mobile phones and a laptop were inspected, and emails and images containing daily sales-register information were recovered. According to the recorded reasons, comparison of the Daily Sales Register information with accounting entries in the Tally programme revealed suppression of sales by around 30% each day. Shri Lilesh Sabnis, responsible for the accounts section, stated that approximately 70% of daily cash sales were deposited in the bank and accounted for in the books, while the remaining cash was not accounted for. He stated that the practice was undertaken on the directions of the partners.
