Dilipkumar Laxminarayan Lohiya Vs Assessment Unit (ITAT Pune)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Pune bench, has remitted the case of Dilipkumar Laxminarayan Lohiya back to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] for fresh examination, including a critical legal challenge regarding the validity of the reassessment proceedings based on the monetary threshold for issuing notices beyond the standard time limit.
The case involves the assessment year 2015-16, for which the assessee, an individual, had originally filed a return declaring a total income of Rs. 2,76,870. Subsequently, information surfaced indicating significant cash deposits totalling Rs. 3,74,18,873 in the assessee’s bank account during the relevant financial year.
Based on this information, the Assessing Officer (AO) initiated reassessment proceedings by issuing a notice under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The AO’s preliminary view was that income had escaped assessment due to these large cash deposits.
In response, the assessee filed a return reiterating the original income declared and provided a reply to the show-cause notice. However, the AO was not satisfied with the explanation and proceeded to make an addition of Rs. 29,93,509 to the assessee’s income. This addition was calculated by estimating a profit of 8% on the total cash deposits, treating them as business receipts that had not been offered for taxation.
