Venkata Satyanarayana Vs ACIT (ITAT Hyderabad)
The assessee appealed against the order of the CIT(A) confirming an addition of ₹1,20,06,000 made under Section 69 of the Income Tax Act in proceedings initiated under Section 153C for AY 2019-20. The addition arose from a loose sheet seized during a search under Section 132 at the premises of a third party, M/s MSR India Limited. The Assessing Officer treated the figures recorded in the loose sheet as representing the actual consideration paid for the purchase of certain plots and, after reducing the amount disclosed in the registered transaction, added the balance as unexplained investment under Section 69.
The assessee contended that the entire addition was based only on an unsigned loose sheet seized from a third party that was neither the purchaser nor the seller of the property. It was submitted that the property had been purchased through a registered sale deed, the consideration was fully supported by banking records and TDS deductions, and the particulars in the loose sheet did not match the actual transaction. The assessee also argued that the document contained no signature, date, authentication or identifiable author, did not reflect the cheque numbers or sale consideration recorded in the registered documents, and that no enquiry had been conducted with the vendors to establish receipt of any amount over and above the registered consideration. It was further submitted that no satisfaction note was supplied and no opportunity for cross-examination was granted.
