2018 (9) TMI 1689 - AT - Income Tax

Addition on account of seized material during the search - Held that - CIT(A) held that though entries appeared to be sale transactions but addition cannot be made on the basis of GP. He gave the reason that no trading account, quantitative details or ledger accounts were produced. He further held that entire business of the assessee is undoubtedly unaccounted and therefore, he held that the gross profit cannot be added but the entire sale transaction requires to be added. However, he reduced the addition from ₹ 136489/- to ₹ 75965/-. Undoubtedly, the addition has been made on account of seized material during the search pertaining to the order and therefore, the ld AO is correct in taking cognizance of those incriminating documents for making addition during the year. - Decided against assessee. Gross profit estimation - unaccounted sales - Held that - The assessee is in the business of jewellery. It deals in gold ornaments. Gold is general trading at margin of 1% to 2%. Unless assessee designs its own jewellery the profit margin is very low in that business as gold prices are transparent and readily verifiable. In the assessment year 2005-06 the ld CIT(A) has taken the gross profit ratio of 10%. According to us such percentage is very high and is comparable with other trading commodities. Therefore, such a high gross profit margin cannot be upheld. Therefore, we direct the ld AO to tax the income of the assessee @2% of unaccounted sales determined by the ld CIT(A) of ₹ 75965/-. In the result ground of the appeal of the assessee is partly allowed.

Summary

Issues involved:
1. Validity of jurisdiction under section 153A of the Act and addition on account of seized material for Assessment Year 2004-05.
2. Determination of the validity of addition of ?75,965 made by the Assessing Officer and confirmed by the CIT(A).
3. Calculation of gross profit ratio for assessing income in trading activities for both Assessment Years 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Analysis:
1. Validity of jurisdiction under section 153A of the Act and addition on account of seized material for Assessment Year 2004-05:
- The assessee challenged the addition of ?75,965 confirmed by the CIT(A) for Assessment Year 2004-05, related to seized material during a search conducted on the premises.
- The Assessing Officer made the addition based on entries found in a diary marked as Annexure A-3, as the assessee did not provide any explanation or supporting documents.
- The CIT(A) reduced the addition from ?1,36,489 to ?75,965, stating that the entire sale transaction needed to be added due to unaccounted business activities.
- The Tribunal upheld the addition based on the seized material and dismissed the appeal on this ground.

2. Determination of the validity of addition of ?75,965:
- The assessee argued that the addition was beyond the scope of section 153A of the Act and contended that only profits embedded in sale transactions related to trading activities should be added.
- The Tribunal noted that no trading account, quantitative details, or ledger accounts were produced by the assessee, leading to the conclusion that the entire business was unaccounted for.
- The Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to tax the income of the assessee at 2% of unaccounted sales, as no past history or comparable data was provided to determine the gross profit ratio accurately.

3. Calculation of gross profit ratio for Assessment Years 2004-05 and 2005-06:
- The Tribunal considered the nature of the assessee's business in jewelry trading, where profit margins are generally low, and directed a gross profit ratio of 2% for both years, instead of the 10% estimated by the CIT(A).
- Grounds 2, 3, and 4 of the appeal were partly allowed for both years based on the revised gross profit ratio calculation.
- The Tribunal dismissed grounds 3 and 4 as they were not pressed during the hearing.

In conclusion, the Tribunal partially allowed the appeals for Assessment Years 2004-05 and 2005-06, directing the Assessing Officer to apply a 2% gross profit ratio for the unaccounted sales of the assessee in the jewelry trading business.