ITO Vs Sanmukh Vincom Pvt. Ltd. (ITAT Kolkata)
Recorded NSEL Transactions Aren’t Unexplained Money: ITAT Kolkata Upholds Deletion of ₹4.88 Cr u/s 69A
Kolkata ITAT (Bench ‘D’) dismissed the Revenue’s appeal and upheld the CIT(A)’s deletion of ₹4.88 crore added u/s 69A on account of alleged unexplained money relating to NSEL transactions.
The Tribunal noted that the Assessing Officer had wrongly treated outstanding receivables from earlier years’ NSEL trades as unexplained investment of the year, despite the fact that all transactions were duly recorded in the books of account and routed through banking channels. It was further held that section 69A can be invoked only where money is not recorded in the books, a condition clearly absent in the present case.
The ITAT also endorsed the CIT(A)’s finding that the AO had misread the banking narration “CAS PRES CHQ” as cash transactions, whereas it merely denotes cheques presented through banks. Emphasising that the assessee was a bona fide investor affected by NSEL’s termination, with recovery proceedings initiated by NSEL against defaulters, the Tribunal held that the addition was based on mere suspicion and surmises. Finding no infirmity in the well-reasoned appellate order, the Revenue’s appeal was dismissed in full.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT KOLKATA
