2021 (2) TMI 533 - AT - Income Tax

Bogus purchases - No opportunity to the assessee to cross examine those parties - HELD THAT - Assessee is indulged in submitting bogus purchases in order to reduce the profit margin against the sales made by them. It is fact on record that AO has not doubted the sales transactions and AO has disallowed the purchase from the above said 2 parties. Considering the facts that they have not made any sales to the assessee, however assessee has filed copy of the purchases, which are placed on record, AO should have given opportunity to the assessee to cross examine those parties. Since assessee has made a plea before Ld. CIT(A) and Ld. CIT(A) should have given an opportunity or adjudicate on this issue. Therefore, for the sake of natural justice, we are inclined to sustain the addition @ 6% similar to the other alleged purchases. Addition of labour charges - HELD THAT - We notice that AO has made a general comment on this expenditure that these were not verifiable independently and made disallowance on adhoc basic with observation that assessee has self made vouchers and incurred expenditure in cash. It is the duty of the AO to verify the vouchers and check that whether this expenditure was actually incurred for the purpose of business or not. If it is not, he cannot proceed to disallow on adhoc basis without there being any reason. Therefore, we are inclined to treat the whole expenditure as incurred for the purpose of business. Accordingly, ground no. 2 raised by the assessee is allowed. Addition of 10% of the motor car expenses since there is no record on utilization of the vehicle - HELD THAT - Ld. CIT(A) has already given substantial relief and reasonable. Therefore, we see no reason to grant any further relief to the assessee. Accordingly, ground no. 3 raised by assessee is dismissed.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Disallowance of expenses on account of depreciation on car.
2. Treatment of alleged bogus purchases.
3. Ad-hoc disallowance of labor charges.
4. Disallowance of motor car expenses.

Issue-Wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Disallowance of Expenses on Account of Depreciation on Car:
The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed 10% of ?202,771 on account of depreciation on car due to the possibility of personal use. The assessee contested this disallowance, but the tribunal upheld the AO's decision, maintaining the disallowance due to the lack of verification of the car's use.

2. Treatment of Alleged Bogus Purchases:
The AO received information from the Sales Tax Department regarding hawala billers who provided accommodation entries to the assessee. Notices issued under section 133(6) to verify these transactions were largely unserved, and some parties confirmed no sales to the assessee. Consequently, the AO treated the entire purchases as bogus and made a 100% disallowance. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] sustained the 100% addition for Bhumi Sales Corporation and G.R. Trade Link, while restricting the addition to 6% for other parties. The tribunal, considering the principle of natural justice and the lack of opportunity for cross-examination, reduced the addition to 6% for Bhumi Sales Corporation and G.R. Trade Link, aligning with the treatment of other parties.

For Assessment Year (AY) 2011-12, the AO disallowed 100% of the purchases from Payal Enterprises, a known hawala dealer. The CIT(A) sustained this disallowance. The tribunal, noting the similar treatment in the previous year where the addition was restricted to 6%, directed the AO to restrict the disallowance to 6% for consistency.

3. Ad-hoc Disallowance of Labor Charges:
For AY 2011-12, the AO disallowed ?75,000 out of ?11,24,133 claimed as labor charges, citing unverifiable self-made vouchers and cash payments. The CIT(A) upheld this disallowance. The tribunal, however, found the AO's approach to be arbitrary and without specific reasons for the disallowance. It ruled that the entire expenditure should be treated as incurred for business purposes, thus allowing the assessee's appeal on this ground.

4. Disallowance of Motor Car Expenses:
For AY 2011-12, the AO disallowed 20% of the motor car expenses due to the absence of a logbook. The CIT(A) reduced this disallowance to 10%. The tribunal found the CIT(A)'s decision reasonable and did not grant any further relief to the assessee, thereby dismissing the appeal on this ground.

Conclusion:
The tribunal partly allowed the appeals for both assessment years, providing relief by reducing the disallowance of alleged bogus purchases to 6% and allowing the full labor charges while upholding the disallowance of car expenses and depreciation. The tribunal emphasized the need for consistency and adherence to principles of natural justice in its rulings.