2016 (3) TMI 1072 - AT - Income Tax

Unaccounted deposits in the three accounts of the assessee company in Federal Bank - Held that - In view of the admission by the Id. AR as well as the fact the four hajj firms floated by the assessee company had no infrastructure of their own and they did not even had their own bank accounts, the income of the Hajj firms is to be assessed in the hands of the assessee company only. As regards the merits of the addition is concerned, the assessee company had produced the details of all the transactions pertaining to the three accounts maintained in Federal Bank Calicut along with the copy of cash book, Profit and Loss account and Balance sheet of the company. The assessee has further filed the detailed analysis of the transactions carried out in the aforesaid bank. The assessee had filed the copies of details of all the bank transactions, details of sales of Air ticket and expenses pertaining to Hajj and Umrah Services for relevant assessment year along with the statement of cash flow. The ld.CIT(A) has verified the details of the bank accounts and found no infirmity in the details given by the assessee company. The objection of the revenue that the reliance should solely be placed on the statement of Sh. M. Narayana Kumar is misplaced. The assessing officer went on a wrong premise and added the entire deposits appearing in the bank accounts without deducting the withdrawals made. It is a settled principle of law that only the real income of the assessee has to be taxed and not notional income. In any case, the assessee could not have been subjected to tax only on the deposits in the bank accounts. - Decided in favour of assessee

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Treatment of undisclosed bank deposits as income.
2. Substantive assessment of income from four Hajj and Umrah service firms.
3. Estimation of profit per pilgrim for food and accommodation expenses.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Treatment of Undisclosed Bank Deposits as Income:
The Revenue's appeal focused on the treatment of deposits in three Federal Bank accounts as undisclosed income. The assessing officer identified total deposits of Rs. 94,96,37,990/- not reflected in the final accounts. For the A.Y. 2009-10, Rs. 20,86,17,005/- was added to the assessee's income. The Ld.CIT(A) found that the bank accounts were not undisclosed, as the transactions were verifiable and linked to the assessee's business. The Ld.CIT(A) deleted the addition, which the Revenue challenged. The Tribunal upheld the Ld.CIT(A)'s decision, noting that the assessing officer did not methodically examine the transactions and wrongly added the entire deposits without considering withdrawals. The Tribunal emphasized that only real income, not notional income, should be taxed.

2. Substantive Assessment of Income from Four Hajj and Umrah Service Firms:
The assessee had floated four firms to circumvent restrictions on the number of pilgrims each agency could send. The assessing officer added the income of these firms to the assessee's income substantively, with protective assessments in the firms' hands. The Ld.CIT(A) upheld this approach. The Tribunal agreed, noting that the firms had no infrastructure or bank accounts of their own, and the income should be assessed in the hands of the assessee company.

3. Estimation of Profit per Pilgrim for Food and Accommodation Expenses:
The assessing officer estimated the profit per pilgrim at Rs. 32,000/- and added Rs. 1,92,00,000/- for 600 pilgrims. The Ld.CIT(A) reduced the estimated profit per pilgrim to Rs. 22,565/-, resulting in a total profit of Rs. 1,35,39,595/-. The assessee challenged this estimation. The Tribunal, referencing a similar case (ITA No. 421/C/14), estimated the profit per pilgrim at Rs. 6,500/- and adjusted the addition accordingly.

Separate Judgments:
- Revenue's Appeals (ITA No. 448, 449, 450, 451/C/2014): All dismissed, upholding Ld.CIT(A)'s deletion of additions related to undisclosed bank deposits.
- Assessee's Appeals (ITA No. 427, 428, 429/C/2014): Partly allowed for statistical purposes. The Tribunal remanded the issue of substantive assessment of income from the four firms to the assessing officer for fresh determination. The profit per pilgrim was recalculated based on similar cases.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal's consolidated order addressed the Revenue's and assessee's appeals, emphasizing proper examination of transactions and adherence to the principle of taxing real income. The Tribunal upheld the Ld.CIT(A)'s findings on undisclosed bank deposits and substantive assessments, while adjusting the profit estimation for food and accommodation expenses.