2014 (12) TMI 22 - HC - Income Tax

Addition of undisclosed cash purchases and bogus sundry creditors Held that - The Tribunal was rightly of the view that the addition was made by him by doubting the purchases having been made by paying cash - the assessee has filed copies of respective purchase bills/challans and the details of payment made by account payee cheques drawn in favour of respective creditors and copies of bank statement of respective parties have also been filed - details of ledger account and copies of bill clearly indicate that the purchases were made from these parties and payments were made through bank in favour of these parties - once the goods ordered had been supplied satisfactorily and payments had been made by account payee cheques, the assessee is not supposed to keep track of the addresses of suppliers - these creditors are not old creditors and also paid by account payee cheques after the purchases were materialised so as to presume that there was cessation of liability. AO has not brought any material to establish that the asssessee has made purchases in cash - material on record proved that the payments were made by account payee cheques, which were duly debited in the assessee s bank account and credited in the bank accounts of the suppliers - AO himself verified the payments made by the assessee and such payments were duly credited in the bank account of the respective parties the tribunal rightly was of the view that the payments were made by account payee cheques which were duly debited to the assessee s bank account and credited in the bank accounts of the suppliers and the AO had presumed and made the addition by observing that the assessee had purchased goods by making cash payments thus, no substantial question of law arises for consideration Decided against revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Dismissal of appeal by the Tribunal on the addition of undisclosed cash purchases and bogus sundry creditors.
2. Allegations of non-consideration of crucial facts by the Tribunal.
3. Dismissal of appeal by the Tribunal without proper consideration of facts and applicable statute.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Dismissal of appeal on cash purchases and bogus creditors
The Revenue appealed against the Tribunal's order dismissing the appeal on the addition of Rs. 30,93,325 for undisclosed cash purchases and bogus sundry creditors. The Tribunal noted that the assessee provided copies of purchase bills, payment details via account payee cheques, and bank statements of the parties. Despite some creditors not being available at given addresses later on, the Tribunal found no fault in the assessee's payment methods. The Tribunal concluded that since payments were made by account payee cheques which were duly credited in the suppliers' bank accounts, there was no substantial question of law. Therefore, the Tribunal upheld the deletion of the addition made by the Assessing Officer.

Issue 2: Allegations of non-consideration of crucial facts
The Revenue contended that the Tribunal erred in not considering vital facts, such as the nature of sundry creditors and subsequent transactions. The Tribunal addressed these contentions by emphasizing that the assessee had paid the creditors via account payee cheques after materializing the purchases. The CIT(A) had deleted the addition based on detailed findings that established the genuineness of the purchases. The Tribunal found no material to support the Revenue's claim of cash purchases, as all payments were made through cheques and duly recorded in bank accounts. Therefore, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal, affirming the CIT(A)'s decision.

Issue 3: Dismissal of appeal without proper consideration
The Revenue argued that the Tribunal unjustly dismissed the appeal without proper evaluation of the case facts and applicable statute, deeming it perverse. However, the Tribunal's decision was based on the clear evidence provided by the assessee regarding the payments made via account payee cheques. The Tribunal found no grounds to interfere with the CIT(A)'s findings, as the Revenue failed to present any material contradicting the genuineness of the transactions. Consequently, the Tribunal upheld the deletion of the addition, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.

In conclusion, the High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision to dismiss the Revenue's appeal, as the evidence supported the genuineness of the transactions and the payments made through legitimate means. The Court found no substantial question of law arising from the Tribunal's findings, leading to the rejection of the appeal.