2001 (7) TMI 93 - HC - Income Tax

Summary

Issues involved: Assessment of undisclosed income, additions to income for jewellery and silver, assessment of income from agriculture.

Assessment of undisclosed income:
The assessee's premises were raided, leading to the discovery of undisclosed income. The Assessing Officer determined the undisclosed income and imposed a tax liability. The appellant challenged this order before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, which partially allowed the claim. The appellant further appealed the Tribunal's decision. The Tribunal considered all evidence, accepted explanations where provided, and made additions where no explanation was given. The High Court found that the Tribunal's findings were based on evidence and dismissed the appeal.

Additions to income for jewellery and silver:
The appellant objected to three additions upheld by the Tribunal related to jewellery and silver. The Tribunal found jewellery and silver in the assessee's safe, making additions where no satisfactory explanation was given. For instance, in the case of jewellery allegedly belonging to Smt. Kiran Goyal, the Tribunal accepted the explanation for some jewellery but made an addition for the remaining amount with no explanation. Similar findings were made for jewellery belonging to Sulochana Devi and silver recovered from the appellant's custody. The High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision, stating that no evidence contradicted the findings.

Assessment of income from agriculture:
The appellant contested the assessment of income from agriculture, claiming it should be higher based on self-cultivated land. The Tribunal fixed the income per acre at Rs.4,000 for specified assessment years due to the absence of accounts provided by the assessee. The High Court deemed this assessment reasonable, considering the lack of accounts and the inability to determine the exact income without proper documentation. As the assessee failed to produce accounts, the Court found no grounds to interfere with the Tribunal's decision in the second appeal.

The High Court, comprising Judges Jawahar Lal Gupta and Ashutosh Mohunta, dismissed the appeal, finding no errors in the Tribunal's order warranting interference.