2016 (9) TMI 339 - HC - Income Tax

Sale of land - chargeable income - Addition on cash deposits in the State Bank of India and Axis Bank - Held that - Commissioner, being of the view that the cash deposits made by the assessee in his saving bank accounts maintained with the Axis Bank and State Bank of India had nothing to do with the sale of land by his father and his uncles, dismissed his appeal, which gave him a cause to file an appeal before the Tribunal. The facts, as referred to above, were gone into by the Tribunal and agreeing with the Assessing Officer and the Commissioner, the Tribunal, gave its stamp of approval to the orders passed by them by dismissing the appeal of the assessee. The afore-referred inconsistencies in the stand of the assessee, were noticed which led to the rejection of the appeal of the assessee. Thus, the factual position brought forward by the assessee, to explain the cash deposits made by him in his saving bank accounts, were concurrently considered and rejected by both the Commissioner as also the Tribunal. After having gone through the same, we find no absurdity or perversity in them warranting any interference on our part.

Issues:
Interpretation of 'chargeable income' and 'real income' under Income Tax Act, 1961
Treatment of capital account transactions as revenue
Verification of source of cash deposits in bank accounts

Interpretation of 'chargeable income' and 'real income' under Income Tax Act, 1961:
The appellant challenged the order passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, invoking Section 260-A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The appeal raised questions regarding whether the 'chargeable income' should be in the hands of the beneficiary and the 'charge' should be on the 'real income' of the assessee. The court held that the appeal did not raise substantial questions of law as both the Tribunal and the Commissioner of Income Tax had adjudicated upon factual issues only. The court examined the facts related to the assessment year 2009-10, where the appellant's explanations for cash deposits were found to be inconsistent and unconvincing. The Assessing Officer added the cash deposits to the appellant's income due to unexplained sources, a decision upheld by the Commissioner and the Tribunal.

Treatment of capital account transactions as revenue:
The appellant attempted to explain cash deposits in his bank accounts as proceeds from a land sale agreement involving his father and uncles. However, discrepancies were found in the agreements and the actual transactions, leading to the rejection of the appellant's explanations. The Commissioner dismissed the appeal after finding inconsistencies in the appellant's statements regarding the source of the deposits. The Tribunal concurred with the Assessing Officer and the Commissioner, upholding the addition of cash deposits to the appellant's income. The court noted the inconsistencies in the appellant's submissions and found no grounds to interfere with the decisions of the lower authorities.

Verification of source of cash deposits in bank accounts:
The Assessing Officer scrutinized the cash deposits made by the appellant in his bank accounts and found them to be unexplained. The appellant's attempts to link the deposits to a land sale agreement were discredited due to discrepancies in the transactions and agreements. The Commissioner and the Tribunal upheld the addition of the cash deposits to the appellant's income, citing false statements and lack of transactional evidence to support the appellant's claims. The court found the explanations provided by the appellant to be inconsistent and lacking credibility, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.

In conclusion, the court dismissed the appellant's appeal, as the explanations for the cash deposits were found to be unreliable and inconsistent. The lower authorities had correctly added the cash deposits to the appellant's income due to unexplained sources, and the court found no grounds to overturn their decisions.

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