2019 (5) TMI 1987 - AT - Income Tax

Addition u/s 69 - unexplained investment - income of the relevant year - Assessee to buy peace surrendered the LTCG as income from other sources in his revised computation of taxable income - HELD THAT - AO could have added only income earned during Assessment Year 2015-16 and cannot tax the investment made in purchase of shares being income of past years, as there was no findings given by the AO that the purchases transactions was bogus transactions. Accordingly, direct the AO to delete addition made u/s.69 of the Act on account of unexplained investment. Decided in favour of assessee. Charging of interest u/s. 234 B C on the assessed income is in contrary to law in view of the decision of Ajay Prakash Verma 2013 (1) TMI 140 - JHARKHAND HIGH COURT relying upon Smt. Tej Kumari 2000 (9) TMI 52 - PATNA HIGH COURT wherein, interalia, it has been held that interest can be charged on the returned Income only and not on the assessed Income - direct the AO to delete the interest as charged u/s.234B of the Act. This ground of appeal of the assessee is allowed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Addition of unexplained investment in shares
2. Charging of interest under section 234B & C

Analysis:

Issue 1: Addition of unexplained investment in shares
The appeal was filed against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) regarding the addition of Rs. 5,40,000 as unexplained investment under section 69 of the Income Tax Act. The assessee argued that the investment was made from past savings and earnings, duly shown in the balance sheet. The Assessing Officer (AO) added the entire receipt from the sale of shares as unexplained investment, but the Tribunal found that only the Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) of Rs. 5,05,265 should have been added, not the entire sale consideration of Rs. 10,45,265. The investment in shares was shown in the balance sheet of the assessee in the previous year and was made from past earnings. The Tribunal directed the AO to delete the Rs. 5,40,000 from the total addition made under section 69, as the investment made in the purchase of shares from past years should not be taxed in the subsequent year without evidence of the transaction being bogus.

Issue 2: Charging of interest under section 234B & C
The Tribunal held that charging interest under section 234B & C on the assessed income was contrary to law based on a judgment of the Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court. The Tribunal directed the AO to delete the interest charged under section 234B of the Act. The appeal of the assessee was allowed on this ground as well.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the appeal of the assessee, directing the AO to delete the addition of Rs. 5,40,000 and the interest charged under section 234B & C. The judgment provided a detailed analysis of the issues raised by the assessee and upheld the principles of taxation law in determining the taxability of investments and the charging of interest on assessed income.