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Issues Involved:
1. Whether there was any material on which the Tribunal could conclude that Rs. 68,958/- out of the cash deposits in the assessee's personal accounts represented his concealed income for the assessment year 1945-46. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Material for Tribunal's Conclusion on Concealed Income: The Tribunal needed to determine whether the amount of Rs. 68,958/- in cash deposits was concealed income. The assessee had two accounts: a personal account and a loan account. Withdrawals from the loan account in March, just before the year-end, totaled Rs. 47,222/8/-, which the Tribunal ruled could not have been used for earlier deposits. Thus, only earlier withdrawals were considered for explaining the deposits. The assessee was required to account for deposits amounting to Rs. 1,80,212/-. Various sources were presented, including bank balances, sales realizations, and agricultural income. Some explanations were accepted, while others were rejected, leading to the conclusion that Rs. 68,958/- was unexplained and thus considered concealed income. The correctness of the Tribunal's rejection of explanations was a question of fact, not law, and was not up for scrutiny in this reference. 2. Burden of Proof and Inference of Concealed Income: The Tribunal's approach was scrutinized for placing the entire burden of proof on the assessee. It was established that while the assessee must explain the sources of deposits, the mere rejection of explanations does not automatically imply the income is taxable. The Tribunal failed to consider whether other materials, alongside the unsatisfactory explanations, justified the inference of concealed income. The Tribunal erroneously concluded that the unexplained deposits were taxable income without proper examination of additional material evidence. 3. Examination of Income Sources and Business Activities: The Tribunal and the Appellate Assistant Commissioner noted no other business activities besides those shown in the books. The unexplained sum of Rs. 68,958/- was inferred to be from the business activities recorded in the accounts. Instances of profit suppression were identified, such as Rs. 26,397/- from seed sales, Rs. 403/- from plant sales, and a falsely reported loss of Rs. 12,782/- in the vegetable contract account. These amounts were part of the concealed income and were added back to the taxable income. However, the sum of Rs. 7,724/- from the packing business was excluded to avoid double taxation. 4. Reasonable Inference and Taxable Income: Given the unsatisfactory accounts and the inability to explain the sources of the deposits, the Tribunal inferred that the unexplained part of Rs. 68,958/- was concealed revenue income. The income-tax authorities were justified in this inference, considering the proven suppression of profits. However, only the amounts not already added back could be taxed as concealed income to avoid double taxation. 5. Final Determination of Concealed Income: The final judgment concluded that while Rs. 68,958/- was considered concealed income, only Rs. 29,376/- could be added to the assessee's total income for the assessment year 1945-46, excluding the amounts already taxed. 6. Costs: Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.
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