Prasad Siddharth Thorat Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
Summary: The ITAT Mumbai considered the assessee’s appeal for A.Y. 2019-20 against the NFAC/CIT(A) order dated 12.06.2025 sustaining disallowance of Rs.2,00,000/- claimed under Section 80GGC. The assessee contended that the donation to Rashtriya Samajwadi Party (Secular) had been made through an account-payee banking channel, the political party was registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and documentary evidence including receipt, PAN and registration certificate had been furnished. The assessee relied upon ACIT Vs. Armyee Infotech and Deepal Mittal Vs. ACIT. At the outset, the Tribunal condoned a two-day delay in filing the appeal, applying the Supreme Court principle in Land Acquisition Collector Vs. Mst. Katiji & Ors. that substantial justice should prevail over technicalities where sufficient cause for non-deliberate delay is shown.
On merits, the Tribunal noted the Investigation Wing material concerning an alleged bogus-donation operation involving Rashtriya Samajwadi Party (Secular). According to the material reproduced in the order, donations received through banking channels were routed through intermediary or dummy entities and ultimately returned to donors, primarily in cash, after deduction of commission. The Tribunal referred to statements recorded under Section 132(4) from Smt. Sandhya Singh and Shri Bishwajeet Singh and to the post-search statement of former party president Amitkumar Chaturvedi. It also noted the finding that the party had not filed contribution reports from F.Y. 2013-14 onwards and had not fulfilled conditions under Section 13A.
