Yashpalsinh Gajendrasinh Vaghela Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Same Diary, Different Outcome: ITAT Orders Fresh Hearing on ₹34.50 Lakh Addition
Fresh Opportunity to Contest Diary-Based Addition
The Ahmedabad ITAT restored an appeal concerning a ₹34.50 lakh addition under Section 69A to the CIT(A), directing a fresh adjudication after providing a reasonable opportunity of hearing. The addition arose from alleged cash capital contributions recorded in a handwritten diary seized during a search on a third-party group.
An important feature was the assessee’s production of a reassessment order for another assessment year, in which the Assessing Officer had accepted his explanation and made no addition concerning an alleged ₹12.50 lakh cash contribution recorded in the same seized material.
The Tribunal directed the CIT(A) to consider that assessment order along with corroborating documentary evidence. However, it expressly refrained from deciding the merits of the ₹34.50 lakh addition.
Search Diary Became the Basis for Reassessment
The assessee had filed his original return for AY 2020-21 on 10 January 2021, declaring total income of ₹4,30,200.
A search under Section 132 was conducted on 8 February 2024 on the PSY and associated group of Gandhinagar, covering key employees and associates. The seized material included a handwritten diary inventorised as Annexure A-6.
