Mohammad Faheem Vs ITO (ITAT Lucknow)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Lucknow Bench, has remanded a tax dispute involving Mohammad Faheem and the Income Tax Officer (ITO) for fresh adjudication. The case, pertaining to Assessment Year 2014-15, revolves around cash deposits of Rs. 1,90,90,465/- in Faheem’s bank account, which the Income Tax Department flagged.
Background of the Case: The assessee, Mohammad Faheem, failed to file his return of income for the assessment year 2014-15. Information available with the Income Tax Department indicated significant cash deposits totaling Rs. 1,90,90,465/- in his J.K. Bank account (No. 0328010100001599). This led the department to reopen the case under section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, by issuing a notice under section 148 of the Act.
Despite the issuance of the notice, Faheem did not file a return of income. Subsequently, the Assessing Officer (AO) issued statutory notices requesting details of the cash deposits. However, no compliance was observed from the assessee’s side. Consequently, the AO completed the assessment ex-parte under section 144 read with 147 of the Act. The total income of the assessee was assessed at Rs. 1,90,90,465/-, with an addition of the entire amount under section 69 of the Act, which deals with unexplained money. The AO also initiated penalty proceedings under sections 271F (for failure to furnish return of income) and 271(1)(c) (for concealment of income or furnishing inaccurate particulars) of the Act, and invoked the provisions of section 115BBE, which pertains to tax on unexplained income.
