2020 (4) TMI 541 - AT - Income Tax

Estimation of income - Bogus purchases - assessee has obtained bogus bills from entities listed in Sales Tax website and declared as hawala dealers by the Sales Tax Department, Mumbai - HELD THAT - Assessee is importing chemicals as one of the line of business and repacks them according to the requirement of customers. - assessee is regularly purchasing packaging materials for the business which is in and around 4 to 5% of sales. AO has disallowed 4.7 lakhs this year. Assessee has declared considerable profit over the years and there is no need for the assessee to suppress any taxable income. Since the onus of proof lies on the assessee to bring on record the respective suppliers but since the suppliers of packaging material is very small and assessee could not submit any documents in support of purchases made from the suppliers. Since Ld. AR submitted that the packaging materials are delivered at the place of business. We cannot reject the contention of the assessee. Since the assessee could not substantiate the documentation for the purchases, we are inclined to disallow certain percentage of the purchases on the ground that assessee may not have carried on with the operation of repacking the chemicals without packaging material - disallow 10% of the packaging material as reasonable - Grounds raised by the assessee are partly allowed.

Summary

Issues:
Reopening of assessment based on alleged bogus bills from hawala dealers, disallowance of packaging material purchases, burden of proof on the assessee, substantiation of purchases, percentage of disallowance, consistency in business operations.

Reopening of Assessment:
The Appellate Tribunal considered the appeals filed by the assessee against the order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for AY 2010-11 & 2011-12. The assessment was reopened based on alleged bogus bills of &8377; 4,74,343 from entities listed as hawala dealers by the Sales Tax Department. The assessee failed to produce the mentioned parties for verification, leading to the addition of 100% of the bogus purchases by the Assessing Officer. The Tribunal reviewed the grounds of appeal challenging the validity of the notice under section 148, emphasizing the lack of tangible material for reopening the assessment.

Disallowance of Packaging Material Purchases:
The assessee, engaged in importing and repacking chemicals, claimed regular purchases of packaging material for retail purposes. The Assessing Officer disallowed the packaging material purchases, citing lack of verification and non-production of suppliers. The Tribunal noted the consistent expenditure on packaging material in previous years and the substantial profits declared by the assessee. Considering the onus of proof on the assessee and the inability to substantiate purchases, the Tribunal allowed a partial disallowance of 10% of the packaging material as reasonable, emphasizing the need for documentation to support purchases.

Burden of Proof and Substantiation of Purchases:
The Tribunal highlighted the importance of the assessee's duty to substantiate purchases and bring suppliers on record. Despite the contention that packaging materials were delivered at the place of business, the inability to provide supporting documents led to the partial disallowance of packaging material purchases. The Tribunal considered the nature of the business, the percentage of packaging material to sales, and the lack of documentation as factors in determining the extent of disallowance.

Percentage of Disallowance and Consistency in Business Operations:
In assessing the appeals, the Tribunal focused on the percentage of disallowance as reasonable, taking into account the business operations and the inability to prove the legitimacy of purchases. The Tribunal emphasized the need for consistency in providing documentation and substantiating expenses to avoid disallowances. Ultimately, the appeals were partly allowed, acknowledging the challenges faced by the assessee in proving the genuineness of purchases and directing a specific percentage of disallowance based on the circumstances presented.

Conclusion:
The Appellate Tribunal partially allowed both appeals filed by the assessee, addressing the issues of reopening of assessment, disallowance of packaging material purchases, burden of proof, substantiation of purchases, percentage of disallowance, and consistency in business operations. The Tribunal's decision underscored the importance of providing adequate documentation to support expenses and the need for the assessee to fulfill the burden of proof in establishing the legitimacy of transactions.