2012 (1) TMI 337 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues involved: Appeal against order related to assessment year 2001-02, delay in filing appeal, justification of AO's assessment of agricultural income.

Delay in Appeal: The appeal was filed 4 days beyond the limitation period, but the delay was condoned upon department's request.

Assessment of Agricultural Income: The AO assessed the agricultural income declared by the assessee as excessive, leading to an addition of &8377; 79,93,628 under "Income from other sources." The Ld CIT(A) deleted this addition, prompting the revenue's appeal.

Defects in AO's Findings: The Ld CIT(A) highlighted several defects in the AO's assessment:
- Incorrect land extent assumption
- Misunderstanding of the product sold (Kismiss, not grapes)
- Lack of cross-examination opportunity for employees
- Past acceptance of declared agricultural incomes
- Lack of corroborative evidence for selling rates

Additional Considerations: The Ld CIT(A) did not address certain crucial points:
- Discrepancies in selling rates
- Competency of Farm Gate Inspector
- Details of sales bills and grape varieties sold

Judgment: The tribunal found defects in the assessee's agricultural income accounts and reduced the declared income by &8377; 8.00 lakhs. This revised assessment was deemed to meet the ends of justice, and the AO was directed to treat this amount as "Income from other sources." The appeal of the revenue was partly allowed.