2014 (7) TMI 1119 - HC - Income Tax

Revision u/s 263 - Unexplained sales and unexplained purchases - Held that - The Tribunal had accepted that there was no unexplained income on account of either sales or purchases. The addition was sought to be made by the Income-tax Department on the basis of statement made by Shri Harmesh Arora before the Central excise authorities in the context of levy of excise duty on unaccounted production. It was not disputed by the learned counsel for the Revenue that the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), the Central Excise Department had deleted the addition of excise duty levied which has been upheld by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi (in short the CESTAT ). A copy of order dated April 28, 2014, passed by the CESTAT has been produced by learned counsel for the Revenue wherein it has been held that there was no evidence to show that there was clandestine manufacture and clearance of the ingots in question. The Income-tax Department had not collected any independent material to arrive at the conclusion that there was unexplained sales or purchases made by the assessee. It was only on the basis of the statement of Shri Harmesh Arora before the excise authorities in which the Tribunal had noticed various contradictions and gaps. In the facts and circumstances, on the basis of the statement made by Shri Harmesh Arora alone before the excise authorities which did not find corroboration from any other material, no addition could have been validly made Tribunal had rightly come to the conclusion that there was no unexplained income on account of sales or purchases of material. - Decided in favour of the assessee.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Validity of additions on account of unexplained sales and unexplained purchases.
2. Validity of the action of the Commissioner of Income-tax (CIT) under section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Validity of Additions on Account of Unexplained Sales and Unexplained Purchases:
The Tribunal found no unexplained income on account of either sales or purchases. The additions were based on a statement made by Shri Harmesh Arora before the Central excise authorities regarding the capacity of the furnace. It was noted that the Central Excise Department had deleted the addition of excise duty levied, and this was upheld by the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The Tribunal observed that the Income-tax Department did not collect any independent material to support the conclusion of unexplained sales or purchases. The Tribunal emphasized that the statement made by Shri Harmesh Arora alone, without any corroborative material, could not be the basis for valid additions.

The Tribunal highlighted that the statement of Shri Harmesh Arora was not recorded by the Income-tax authorities but by the Central excise authorities. The Tribunal noted several contradictions and gaps in the statement and concluded that the statement alone could not form the basis for making the impugned additions. The Tribunal also considered various factors, such as the lack of evidence of the furnace's increased capacity from 4 metric tonnes to 5 metric tonnes and the absence of any investment towards acquiring a 5 metric tonnes furnace.

The Tribunal's findings included:
- The materials on record did not establish that the furnace capacity was increased to 5 metric tonnes.
- The Central excise authorities' subsequent inspections confirmed the furnace capacity as 4 metric tonnes.
- No evidence was presented to show that the furnace of 4 metric tonnes was replaced by a 5 metric tonnes furnace.
- The statement of Shri Harmesh Arora had several gaps, such as the absence of details about the procurement and sale of unaccounted production.

Therefore, the Tribunal concluded that there was no unexplained income on account of sales or purchases of material, and the additions made by the Assessing Officer were canceled.

2. Validity of the Action of the Commissioner of Income-tax (CIT) under Section 263:
The Tribunal's decision on the merits of the case rendered the issue of the validity of proceedings under section 263 academic. The Tribunal had already concluded that there was no unexplained income on account of sales or purchases, which addressed the core issue raised by the CIT under section 263.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal concluded that there was no substantial question of law arising from the appeals. Consequently, all the appeals were dismissed, affirming the Tribunal's decision to cancel the additions made by the Assessing Officer and the order passed by the CIT under section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.