Ghanshyam Madhusudan Soni Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
ITAT Ahmedabad Quashes Reassessment Holding Section 153C Applied Instead of Section 147
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Ahmedabad, decided two appeals filed by the assessee against separate orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for Assessment Years 2009-10 and 2011-12. The assessee challenged the additions made by the Assessing Officer and also raised additional legal grounds contending that reassessment proceedings initiated under Sections 147 and 148 of the Income-tax Act were invalid because the case was governed by the special provisions relating to search and requisition assessments under Sections 153A and 153C.
For Assessment Year 2009-10, the return of income had been processed under Section 143(1). Subsequently, on the basis of information received following proceedings under Section 132A in the cases of Narayan Sai and Asaram Bapu, the Assessing Officer reopened the assessment under Section 147. According to the Revenue, a promissory note relating to a cash loan of ₹20 lakh and an individual ledger allegedly pertaining to the assessee had been found during the search. On examining the seized material, the Assessing Officer concluded that the assessee had repaid ₹6 lakh towards principal and ₹2.14 lakh towards interest during the relevant financial year, which were allegedly not reflected in the books of account. The assessee denied having taken any loan, making any repayment or maintaining any such ledger. As the Assessing Officer found no corroborative evidence supporting the assessee’s explanation, an addition of ₹8,14,200 was made as expenditure incurred from undisclosed sources. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the assessment.
