Komal Ketan Shah Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Ahmedabad has allowed the appeal of Komal Ketan Shah against the reassessment order passed for the Assessment Year 2016–17. The reassessment was initiated under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, based on alleged unaccounted cash investment of ₹99.85 lakh. The Assessing Officer claimed this payment was made as on-money in a property project named “Reevera,” a claim that the assessee refuted. The Tribunal found that the reopening of the case was based on incorrect assumptions and unsupported by concrete evidence.
The initial reassessment proceedings stemmed from information obtained during a search conducted on Rajyash/Samarth Group, Ahmedabad. The revenue authorities claimed there was an entry showing cash transactions linked to the assessee. However, the assessee denied any investment in the project and asserted that the reopening notice referred to profits from a scheme in which she had no involvement. She also emphasized that she had never received a chance to cross-examine the parties whose statements formed the basis for the reopening, nor were the relied-upon documents shared with her.
The CIT(A) upheld the reassessment, emphasizing that the onus was on the assessee to prove the source of the cash payment. It was noted that the assessee concentrated only on procedural lapses rather than offering a substantive explanation for the investment. The Commissioner dismissed concerns about mechanical approval under Section 151 and did not entertain the assessee’s request for cross-examination, reinforcing the addition under Section 69 for unexplained investment.
