2022 (4) TMI 1315 - AT - Income Tax

Unexplained cash credits u/s 68 r.w.s. 115BBE - Assessee submitted it as agricultural income - HELD THAT - The assessee has given no reason as to why he could not able to produce the basic documents required by the Assessing Officer for allowing the claim of agricultural income by the assessee. It was, in the above circumstances, the learned CIT(A) has held that the agricultural income for the AYs 2014-15 to 2015-16 is around ₹ 4 to 7 lakhs, but during this AY 2016-17 the assessee has shown agricultural income of ₹ 23,90,000/-. The assessee has not explained how this much boom in the agricultural income and nature of crop cultivated by him. In the absence of any details furnished by the assessee, the learned CIT(A) estimated the average agricultural income as ₹ 5.6 lakhs which is reasonably allowable and he accordingly confirmed the remaining ₹ 18.3 lakhs as the unexplained credit under Section 68 of the Act. In the assessee s case that the assessee is non-cooperative with the Assessing Officer in spite of seven opportunities given to him by the Assessing Officer. The assessee has also not furnished the bills, bank statements even before the learned CIT(A) in spite of enough opportunities given by the learned CIT(A). Further, the present appeal is filed before the Tribunal with a delay of 101 days; so, taking into account the overall lethargic attitude of the assessee, we deem it fit to impose a cost of ₹ 10,000/- on the assessee payable to the Prime Minister s National Relief Fund within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of this order. Thereafter, on production of the official receipt, the learned Assessing Officer can entertain the additional evidences placed before the Tribunal and, after affording opportunity to the assessee, the learned Assessing Officer is directed to pass appropriate assessment order in accordance with law. To this extent, this appeal of the assessee is allowed.

Summary

Issues Involved:
Delay in filing appeal before the Tribunal, Treatment of cash deposits as unexplained income, Admission of additional evidences.

Delay in Filing Appeal:
The appeal was filed with a delay of 101 days due to the Chartered Accountant not being informed of the appellate order in time. The Departmental Representative had no objection to condone the delay. The Tribunal accepted the reason for delay and proceeded to hear the appeal.

Treatment of Cash Deposits:
The assessee, engaged in the trading business and agricultural activities, declared cash deposits of ?23,90,000 as agricultural income. The Assessing Officer issued notices for documentary evidence, which the assessee failed to provide. Consequently, the cash deposit was treated as unexplained credit under Section 68 of the Income-tax Act, and tax was calculated under Section 115BBE. The CIT(A) partially allowed the appeal, confirming ?18,30,000 as undisclosed income. The Tribunal upheld this decision due to lack of evidence and non-cooperation by the assessee.

Admission of Additional Evidences:
The assessee submitted additional evidences, including agricultural sales bills and bank statements, before the Tribunal. The AR requested admission of these new documents for verification by the Assessing Officer. The Revenue argued that the assessee had multiple opportunities to provide these details earlier but failed to do so. Despite the delay in filing the appeal and lack of cooperation, the Tribunal allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, imposing a cost of ?10,000 on the assessee payable to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. The Assessing Officer was directed to consider the additional evidences and pass an appropriate assessment order.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal addressed the delay in filing the appeal, the treatment of cash deposits as unexplained income, and the admission of additional evidences. Due to the lack of cooperation and evidence provided by the assessee, the Tribunal upheld the decision regarding the undisclosed income. The imposition of a cost on the assessee and directions for further assessment signify the importance of compliance and cooperation in tax proceedings.