Dinesh Kumar Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Section 69A Addition Deleted as Cash Deposits Explained by Verified Withdrawals and Co-owner’s Advance: ITAT Delhi
The appeal was filed by the assessee against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for AY 2011-12, challenging the confirmation of an addition of ₹48,00,000 under Section 69A of the Income-tax Act. The Tribunal first considered the 237-day delay in filing the appeal. Referring to the Supreme Court’s orders extending limitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, it held that the appeal was within the extended limitation period and admitted it for adjudication. The assessee did not press the legal grounds challenging the assessment, and those grounds were dismissed as not pressed.
The surviving dispute concerned the addition under Section 69A. The assessee contended that the Commissioner (Appeals) had incorrectly observed that there were no cash withdrawals from the bank account. Relying on the bank statements, the assessee submitted that the total cash deposits of ₹48,10,499 were fully explained by cash withdrawals of ₹44,39,976 together with ₹4 lakh received from his mother, making the available cash exceed the deposits. The Revenue opposed the explanation, contending that the alleged gift was unsupported by documentary evidence.
The assessee further explained that the deposit of ₹20 lakh on 20.10.2010 represented part of a cash advance/security received in connection with a land transaction involving his mother and other co-owners. According to the assessee, the advance was to be returned after completion of the sale, and following receipt of the sale consideration through cheque, the advance was repaid from withdrawals made by his mother from the joint bank account, as the assessee was away from home at the relevant time.
