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TMI Blog2015 (5) TMI 429X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re dealt with in detail in the order of assessment. The defence offered by the appellant was that he clearly mentioned at the time of recording of the statement that the same would be subject to verification of the books of account. The statement recorded under section 132(4) of the Act would certainly constitute an important basis for an Assessing Officer to take necessary steps under the provisions of the Act. However, if the statement is retracted and there does not exist any other reliable material, making of assessment on the basis of such retracted statement cannot be treated as legal. Therefore, it is difficult to hold that the statement was bereft of any material. As a matter of fact, the relevant documents were shown to the appe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , 2001, holding that there are three items of undisclosed income of the appellant in relation to the block period. The first is an amount of ₹ 7,50,000 said to have been paid to Yeturi General Finance, the second is a sum of ₹ 6,73,000 used for purchased of land at Guttala Begumpet and the third is a sum of ₹ 2,20,000 representing the value of the land paid over and above the one shown in the sale deed. All the three items were attributed to the statement recorded from the appellant under section 132(4) of the Act. Aggrieved by the order of the Assessing Officer, the appellant filed I. T. (SS) A. No. 16/Hyd/2001 before the Hyderabad Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal. The appeal was dismissed by the Tribunal thr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er section 132(4) of the Act and that the same does not apply to the facts of the present case. The search that was conducted on March 4, 1997, led to the block assessment against the appellant covering the period from 1987-88 to 1997-98. Though the appellant submitted the returns showing nil income, the Assessing Officer conducted a detailed enquiry with reference to various items that are said to have been noticed by him before the search. The three items referred to above were dealt with in detail in the order of assessment. The defence offered by the appellant was that he clearly mentioned at the time of recording of the statement that the same would be subject to verification of the books of account. The statement recorded under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e taken place simultaneously and the appellant did not complain of any coercion much less did he retract from the statement. The Assessing Officer extracted in detail, the statement recorded from the appellant during the course of search. For example, questions Nos. 13 and 17 and the answers thereto, which are part of the statement, read as under : Question 13 : During the course of search, a promissory note was found for ₹ 20,000 given to Askari Venkataswamy by you. Please confirm whether you have given the above amount ? Answer : Yes. I have given an amount of ₹ 20,000 to Aksari Venkataswamy. Question 17 : Please go through page 7 of annexure YRR/A/1 of the seized material found in your room in the office and comment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder which such an observation was made are not immediately before this court. Once the questions were put to the appellant, on the basis of the seized documents, which in turn were assigned separate numbers, there is no way the appellant can disown the same. Further, this is not a case, where the block assessment is based exclusively upon the statement. It was supported by the other documents seized during the course of search. The circular relied upon by the learned counsel for the appellant deals with the cases, where the orders of assessment are passed exclusively on the basis of the statement. It has already been mentioned that the considerable material was seized during the course of search. Therefore, the circular has no applicati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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