ITAT Delhi held that cash-in-hand reflected in audited books remains valid even if no return was filed for the prior year, deleting the entire unexplained cash addition.
The ITAT Delhi allowed the appeal of Vivaan Prakash, quashing the u/s 153C assessment for AY 2018-19. The Tribunal ruled that the single u/s 153D approval granted by the Addl. CIT for two assessment years was mechanical and lacked application of mind, vitiating the entire assessment based on precedents like PCIT v. Shiv Kumar Nayyar (Delhi HC).
Relying on Delhi High Court’s ruling in Shiv Kumar Nayyar, the Tribunal held that granting a consolidated, template-style approval for multiple assessment years under Section 153D is illegal. The key takeaway is that the mandatory approval for a search assessment (Sec. 153C/153D) requires independent application of mind for each assessment year.
The ITAT Delhi ruled that Marketing & Reservation Contributions (MRC) received by a US-based hotel brand entity from Indian franchisees are not taxable as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) or Royalty under the India-US DTAA. The Tribunal followed the principle of judicial consistency, reiterating that these receipts were not compensation for managerial or technical services.
ITAT Delhi dismissed Revenue’s appeal, deleting a ₹2.18 crore Transfer Pricing (TP) adjustment on palm oil imports. Tribunal ruled that taxpayer rightly used Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method based on Kuala Lumpur Commodity Exchange (KLCE)-derived broker quotes, confirming CUP as the most appropriate method for commodity trading.
Assessment order was quashed because ITO who issued the Section 143(2) notice exceeded their pecuniary limits as prescribed by CBDT instructions. This decision provides a key takeaway that the jurisdiction limit set by the CBDT for assigning cases to ITOs versus higher-ranking officers is mandatory, and a breach invalidates the assessment proceedings.
The Delhi ITAT sustained a Rs.42.98 lakh addition for unexplained expenditure found in a seized diary, ruling that the entries proved a sufficient nexus to the assessee under Section 292C. However, the Tribunal provided partial relief by directing the lower tax rate under the pre-amendment Section 115BBE to be applied for AY 2015-16.
The ITAT confirmed the reopening u/s 147/148 beyond the four-year limit was valid, as information from the wife’s assessment about the joint account constituted a new and tangible reason to believe income escaped. Despite upholding the reopening, the Tribunal granted significant taxpayer relief by accepting documentary evidence for property-related transactions and reducing the addition to a minimal amount.
The Tribunal directed the CIT(E) to grant Section 12A registration, holding that the Commissioner exceeded jurisdiction by focusing on commercial aspects like fee levels and profitability at the registration stage. The ruling confirms that only the genuineness of the objects and activities must be examined when processing a charitable trust’s application.
Citing lack of sufficient cause for condonation, the Tribunal ruled that even charitable entities cannot escape limitation rules, dismissing the appeal filed after over six years.*
