2008 (4) TMI 263 - HC - Income Tax

Share application money - existence of the applicants - genuineness of the transaction additions - Held that additional burden was on the Revenue to show that even if the share applicant did not have the means to make the investment the investment made by them (share applicant) actually emanated from the coffers of the Assessee so as to enable it to be treated as the undisclosed income of the Assessee hence revenue s appeal is dismissed

Issues:
1. Assessment of share application money received by the Assessee.
2. Treatment of income by the Assessing Officer.
3. Upholding of the view by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).
4. Consideration of genuineness of the transaction by the Tribunal.
5. Examination of creditworthiness of the applicants.
6. Burden of proof on the Revenue to show undisclosed income.

Analysis:
The High Court addressed the grievance of the Revenue against the order passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal regarding the assessment of share application money received by the Assessee. The Assessee had received Rs.51 lakhs from 33 persons, and the Assessing Officer added Rs.46 lakhs to the Assessee's income due to inadequate responses from some share applicants. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) upheld this decision, but the Tribunal disagreed. The Tribunal considered the documents provided by the Assessee, such as income tax returns and bank statements, and relied on previous court decisions to establish that if the existence of the applicant is proven, further inquiry may not be necessary.

The Tribunal highlighted the principle established by previous court decisions that if the existence of the applicant is proven, no further inquiry is generally needed. The Revenue argued that the creditworthiness of the applicants should be examined, but the Court acknowledged the difficulty for the Assessee to prove this for strangers. The Court emphasized that the Revenue must demonstrate that the investment actually came from the Assessee's funds if doubts exist about the applicant's ability to invest. As this was not established in the present case, the Tribunal's decision to delete the addition was upheld by the High Court.

The Court concluded that no substantial question of law arose, and the appeal was dismissed. The judgment affirmed that the Tribunal did not err in deleting the addition to the Assessee's income.

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