Antal Expo Fab Pvt. Ltd. Vs DCIT (ITAT Delhi)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi, disposed of six appeals filed by three assessees through a common order, as the facts and issues involved were identical. The Tribunal treated the appeal of Antal Expo Fab Pvt. Ltd. for Assessment Year 2018-19 as the lead case. The assessments had been completed under Section 153C of the Income-tax Act following a search conducted on the Hawala Traders Group led by Sumit Jindal on 31.10.2018.
The assessee, engaged in the business of wholesale and retail cloth trading, had originally filed its return declaring income of ₹15,05,580. During the search on Sumit Jindal, certain digital data and documents allegedly relating to the assessee were seized. Based on these materials, a notice under Section 153C was issued on 14.07.2021. During assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer concluded that the assessee had made non-genuine purchases of ₹50,95,818 from an entity managed by Sumit Jindal. The entire amount was added under Section 68, and a further addition of 0.15% was made under Section 69C towards alleged commission for accommodation entries. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the assessment on both legal and factual grounds.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee primarily challenged the validity of the proceedings under Section 153C. It argued that the satisfaction note recorded by the Assessing Officer was defective because it was an omnibus satisfaction note that failed to identify year-wise incriminating material relating to the assessee or specify any amount connected with the relevant assessment years. The assessee also contended that such a defective satisfaction note vitiated the entire proceedings and relied upon several judicial precedents in support of its contention.
