2017 (8) TMI 30 - HC - Income Tax

Unexplained bank deposits treated as income from other sources - Held that - No reason to interfere with the concurrent finding of fact by two Revenue authorities and the Tribunal that the assessee failed to explain the source of sizable amount of cash deposits in the bank accounts and therefore such amount is required to be added to the income of the assessee as income from other source. No question of law arises

Summary

Issues:
Addition of unexplained bank deposits as income from other sources.

Analysis:
The appellant appealed against the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's judgment, questioning the addition of ?15.32 lakhs as unexplained bank deposits. The Assessing Officer observed cash deposits in the appellant's bank account and sought an explanation. The appellant claimed the cash was withdrawn from their own account and deposited. However, the Assessing Officer rejected this explanation, stating it was unnecessary to withdraw cash for the business and doubted the cash was used for deposits. This decision was upheld by the Commissioner of Incometax (Appeals) and the Tribunal.

The appellant referenced a previous court judgment to support their case, arguing that explaining the source of a cash deposit in a bank account should suffice without needing to explain the withdrawal. Despite this, the Tribunal cited a Supreme Court decision to support the Assessing Officer's stance. After reviewing the orders and hearing arguments, the High Court found no grounds to overturn the concurrent findings that the appellant failed to explain the source of the cash deposits. Consequently, the amount was deemed income from other sources and added to the appellant's income. The court dismissed the tax appeal, stating no legal question arose from the case.