2018 (7) TMI 306 - AT - Income Tax

Validity of notice issued u/s.148 - denial of natural justice - AO issued notice merely on the basis of information received from third party and without applying his mind on the issue of concealment of income - Held that - AO as well as the CIT(A) have made the aforesaid addition of ₹ 26,58,213/- at the back of the assessee without providing copies of statement/affidavits of the parties and without providing the benefit of cross examination of the parties to the assessee. The application of the assessee addressed to the CIT(A)-I, dated 16-12-2016, evidences the fact of seeking cross examination and copies of statements/affidavits of the parties. Thus revenue authorities have not followed due procedure before making reassessment u/s.147 of the Act and therefore, violated the principles of natural justice. Coming to the merits also, the assessee has produced copies of bills, transport receipts, delivery challans, bank statements, etc. establishing the trail of goods. Further, the books of account have also not been rejected u/s.145(3) of the Act. - Decided in favour of assessee

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Validity of notice issued u/s.148
2. Disallowance of purchases amounting to ?26,58,213

Analysis:

Issue 1: Validity of notice issued u/s.148
- The appeal challenged the validity of the notice issued u/s.148 by the AO based on information from a third party without proper application of mind.
- The CIT(A) upheld the initiation of proceedings u/s.147, citing legal evidence and following due procedure as per the judgment in various cases.
- The appellant contended that the AO did not provide copies of statements/affidavits of parties or allow cross-examination, violating principles of natural justice.
- The Tribunal found that the revenue authorities did not follow due procedure, leading to the assessment being held as invalid and unsustainable.
- Citing the judgment in Andaman Timber Industries vs. CCE, the Tribunal declared the assessment proceedings as bad in law and void ab-initio.

Issue 2: Disallowance of purchases
- The CIT(A) confirmed the addition of ?26,58,213 due to lack of documentary evidence supporting the purchases.
- The appellant failed to produce necessary documents like transport receipts, stock registers, and purchase to sale reconciliation, leading to the confirmation of the addition.
- The Tribunal noted that the assessee provided bills, transport receipts, bank statements, etc., establishing the trail of goods and that the books of account were not rejected under section 145(3) of the Act.
- As the legal issue of notice validity was held in favor of the assessee, the Tribunal dismissed the merit-related grounds as academic and partly allowed the appeal.

In conclusion, the Tribunal partially allowed the appeal, holding the assessment proceedings initiated u/s.148 as invalid and unsustainable due to procedural lapses by the revenue authorities. The disallowance of purchases was not sustained as the appellant provided sufficient documentary evidence supporting the transactions. The judgment highlighted the importance of following due process and upholding principles of natural justice in assessment proceedings.