Pancham Marketings Pvt. Ltd. Vs DCIT (ITAT Kolkata)
Section 68 Addition Deleted – Loans Confirmed by Lenders and Assessed in Their Hands, AO’s Suspicion Held Unsustainable
The Kolkata ITAT allowed the assessee’s appeal and deleted the addition of ₹2 crore made under Section 68 in respect of unsecured loans received from three corporate lenders. The Tribunal noted that the assessee had furnished complete details including PAN, audited accounts, confirmations and bank statements, and that all lenders had duly responded to notices issued under Section 133(6) confirming the transactions. The Assessing Officer had not pointed out any defect in the evidence and merely doubted the transactions on suspicion that the lenders were linked to an alleged entry operator and had accounts in the same bank. Importantly, the Tribunal observed that in two cases the lenders had already been assessed under Section 147 and in one case a coordinate bench had accepted the source of funds of the lender. Relying on the Calcutta High Court decision in PCIT v. Sreeleathers, the Tribunal held that once identity, genuineness and prima facie creditworthiness are established, the burden shifts to the Revenue, which was not discharged in the present case. Accordingly, the order of the CIT(A) was set aside and the entire addition under Section 68 was directed to be deleted.
