2017 (7) TMI 957 - HC - Income Tax

Addition u/s 68 - Held that - According to Section 68 of the Act, where any sum is found credited in the books of account of an assessee maintained for any previous year and the asseessee offers no explanation about the nature and source of the same or the explanation offered by him is not satisfactory in the opinion of the Assessing Officer, the sum so credited may be charged to income tax as the income of the assessee of that previous year. It has been categorically recorded by the Tribunal that the provisions of Section 68 of the Act were clearly not attracted to the amount representing purchases made on credits. In the present case, the concerned transactions were only of supply of material and, therefore, provisions of Section 68 of the Act were not applicable. Further the trade creditors in the earlier years i.e. assessment years 2007-08 and 2008-09 stood accepted in scrutiny assessments. Thus, the genuineness of expenses under consideration could not be doubted. - Decided against revenue

Summary

Issues:
1. Interpretation of Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 regarding the nature and source of credited sums.
2. Application of Section 68 in the context of purchases made on credits.
3. Examination of the Tribunal's decision on the genuineness of expenses and trade creditors in earlier years.
4. Assessment of the Tribunal's findings and the lack of legal basis for interference by the Court.

Issue 1: Interpretation of Section 68 of the Income Tax Act:
The appellant-revenue challenged the Tribunal's decision under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, regarding the applicability of Section 68. The Tribunal found that Section 68 was not attracted to amounts representing purchases made on credits by the assessee, a road contractor. The Tribunal cited precedents and the nature of the transactions to support its conclusion, emphasizing that the genuineness of expenses could not be doubted based on earlier accepted trade creditors.

Issue 2: Application of Section 68 to purchases made on credits:
The Tribunal analyzed the nature of the credits shown by the assessee in the balance sheet, which represented purchases made on credits for road construction. It concluded that Section 68 did not apply to these transactions, as evidenced by the nature of the purchases and the absence of doubt regarding the genuineness of the expenses, especially considering the history of accepted trade creditors in previous years.

Issue 3: Tribunal's decision on genuineness of expenses and trade creditors:
The Tribunal's decision highlighted that the assessee's transactions were related to the supply of material for road construction, not subject to Section 68 scrutiny. It noted the consistency in the acceptance of trade creditors in earlier assessments, reinforcing the genuineness of the expenses under consideration. The Tribunal's detailed analysis and findings supported its conclusion that the provisions of Section 68 did not apply in this case.

Issue 4: Assessment of Tribunal's findings and lack of legal basis for interference:
The Court reviewed the Tribunal's findings and determined that they were neither illegal nor perverse. The Court found no misreading of the material on record, indicating no legal grounds for interference. Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeal, as no substantial question of law arose from the Tribunal's decision, affirming the Tribunal's interpretation and application of Section 68 in the case at hand.