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TMI Blog2021 (6) TMI 712X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for the family in case of emergency need - this explanation was rejected by the AO on the pretext the assessee was not having income from any business. AO has not brought on record any document, evidence etc to show that the assessee was having any income from any other source other than saving from various activities mentioned elsewhere. No evidence had been brought on record AO, in terms of press statement dated 18/11/2016 and SOP to established that the amount deposited in the account was not of the account holder/ assessee but of somebody else - when the AO had brought on record the evidence of proving that the money belongs to other person and not of the assessee, the amount deposited shall not added as income of the assessee. Assessee had duly explained the source of deposit i.e previous years saving and we have no hesitation to accept the same , as it would been presumed that this small amount of ₹ 2,21, 000/ would have been accumulated or saved by her from various activities undertaken by her for and on behalf of family in last many years . In the decision of Kirti [ 2021 (1) TMI 1123 - SUPREME COURT] women per say cannot be said to be not having income fro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on scheme, announced by the revenue. 4. During the course of assessment proceedings, the appellant was asked to explain the cash deposits of ₹ 2,11,500/- in the Nagrik Sahkari Bank, made during the period of demonetization from 09/11/2016 to 30/12/2016. 5. In response to the notice issued by AO the assessee filed the reply to the notice . It was submitted by the assessee that the assessee has no business activities in a name and she only on the income from interest on her saving. 6. The assessee was asked to produce the evidence in support of her cash deposit in the bank during the demonetisation. 7. The assessing officer has made the addition of ₹ 2, 11, 500/- to the income of the assessee treating the amount deposited in the bank as unexplained money under section 69A read with 115BBE of the income tax Act 1961. 8. Feeling aggrieved by the order passed by the assessing officer the assessee filed the appeal before the Commissioner appeal (NFAC). NFAC had dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee, by mentioning in the order as under: The appellant submitted that the Assessing Officer erred in making addition of ₹ 2,11,500/-, without any basis. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ute in household business/work, work in the field, discharge duties as nurse, teacher, caretaker etc. Thereafter had submitted that though house wife are normally not going out of home for earning but they are financially contributing in the families by means of above service . He had submitted that for the selfless and caring nature of House wife , they are not charging any amount for the services. 11. He further emphasized that it is a matter of common knowledge that, mother/wife and other ladies are saving money/ funds received by them either from the family or husband or children, for the rainy days. 12. It was contention of the Ld.AR that considering the above aspect into mind, the Hon ble Prime Minister had declared that the revenue will not probe the accounts of individuals, housewives if the deposits made in the bank account were below ₹ 2,50, 000/-, during Demonetization Scheme 2016. The Ld.AR had also drawn our attention to CBDT public notice dated 18th Nov 2016 and guidelines for Verification of Cash deposit during demonetization to the AO , vide Instruction No. 03/2017 Dated 21st of February, 2017 and annexure thereof issued under section 119 of Income Tax A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... #2340;ु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवतााः । यत्रैतास्तु न पूज्यन्ते सवायस्तत्राफलााः क्रियााः ।। मनुस्मृक्रत ३ / ५६ ।। The family in which women (such as mother, wife, sister, daughter et al.) are full of sorrow that family meets its destruction very soon; while the family in which they do not grieve is always prosperous. 17. From the ancient time, women in India are having special place in family and society. We have many woman as role model in Indian history to a name a few Mata Zizabai ( Mother of Chaterpati Shivaji Maharaj ) , Ahaliya Bhai , Laxmi Bai, Phoole , Anne Besant , ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... percent.4 9. It is curious to note that this is not just a phenomenon unique to India, but is prevalent all over the world. A 2009 Report by a Commission set up by the French Government, analyzing data from six countries, viz. Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Finland and the United States of America, highlighted similar findings: 117. Gender differences in time use are significant. In each of the countries under consideration, men spend more time in paid work than women and the converse is true for unpaid work. Men also spend more time on leisure than women. The implication is that women provide household services but other members of the household benefit... 5 (emphasis supplied) 10. The sheer amount of time and effort that is dedicated to household work by individuals, who are more likely to be women than men, is not surprising when one considers the plethora of activities a housemaker undertakes. A housemaker often prepares food for the entire family, manages the procurement of groceries and other household shopping needs, cleans and manages the house and its surroundings, undertakes decoration, repairs and maintenance work, looks after the n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted General Recommendation No. 17 on the Measurement and quantification of the unremunerated domestic activities of women and their recognition in the gross national product in 1991. The General Recommendation affirmed that the measurement and quantification of the unremunerated domestic activities of women, which contribute to development in each country, will help to reveal the de facto economic role of women . 14. It is worth noting that the above General Recommendation is passed in furtherance of Article 11 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women which relates to ending discrimination against women in the field of employment, a Convention that India has ratified. 15. The issue of fixing notional income for a homemaker, therefore, serves extremely important functions. It is a recognition of the multitude of women who are engaged in this activity, whether by choice or as a result of social/cultural norms. It signals to society at large that the law and the Courts of the land believe in the value of the labour, services and sacrifices of homemakers. It is an acc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ame/signature of a father or a husband are often a requirement. Opening and operating accounts on mobile wallets requires mobile phones (preferably smartphones equipped with access to the internet) to begin with, which several women may not even own. Therefore, in essence, women require the consent of male relatives to access formal financial channels, whereas cash offers them a certain amount of independence. 21. Only after Hon ble PM initiative of Jandhan Yojana , impetus was given to open the bank account with more focus on rural areas and women. Prior thereto generally women were not maintaining any Bank account and were largely keeping the cash in house at odd places, for the emergency use. 22. Women all over the country , had been accumulating cash that they had saved for themselves from household budgets , by haggling with vegetable sellers, tailors, grocers and assorted traders, years of stashing in whatever little cash gifts they received from relatives during festival times and years of tucking away the change they found in the pants that they washed every day, however suddenly they were left with no option but to deposit the amount in the denomination of ₹ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ernment in curbing black money, this mission of black money will not succeed. Also the people who are against the black money should give information of such illegal activities going on to the Income Tax department so that immediate action can be taken and such illegal transfer of cash can be stopped and seized. Black money is a crime against humanity. We urge every conscientious citizen to help join the Government in eradicating it. (Meenakshi J. Goswami) Commissioner of Income Tax (Media and Technical Policy) Official Spokesperson, CBDT. 24. The assessee during the assessment proceedings and before first appellate authority, had raised her plea of issuing the binding instructions , however despite that the additions were made on account of the deposit made in the bank for an amount of ₹ 2, 21, 000/-. In our view the addition made by the lower authority cannot be sustained on account of the statement given by the Prime Minister, press statement and the standard operating procedure issued by the board, as instructions under section 119 to the Assessing officer , as the instructions issued by the Board are statutory and binding on the revenue . In the matter ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r purpose specified in sub-section (2) of that section and that such an order, instruction or direction cannot override the provisions of the Act which would be destructive of all the known principles of law as the same would really amount to giving powers to a delegated authority to even amend the provisions of the law enacted by Parliament. 13. Thus viewed, section 119 authorises the Board to issue orders, instructions and directions to the income-tax authorities for proper administration of the Act . A circular is admittedly executive in character and has to be issued in aid of functioning of the Act and with the objective that, the provisions of the Act are properly administered. The Board may, in issuing a circular, clarify a point of ambiguity in any provision of law. Such clarification is not binding upon the courts. It cannot also run counter to the legislative provisions and create rights or obligations which are contrary to the statute. Instructions really supplant the law and not supplement the law. It is settled law that circulars cannot impose any burden on the taxpayer but can deviate from the provisions of the Act if it is beneficial to the assessee and has mitig ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iness. However assessing officer has not brought on record any document, evidence etc to show that the assessee was having any income from any other source other than saving from various activities mentioned elsewhere. Further no evidence had been brought on record , AO, in terms of press statement dated 18/11/2016 and SOP to established that the amount deposited in the account was not of the account holder/ assessee but of somebody else. In the light of the above when the AO had brought on record the evidence of proving that the money belongs to other person and not of the assessee, the amount deposited shall not added as income of the assessee. 29. In our opinion assessee had duly explained the source of deposit i.e previous years saving and we have no hesitation to accept the same , as it would been presumed that this small amount of ₹ 2,21, 000/ would have been accumulated or saved by her from various activities undertaken by her for and on behalf of family in last many years . Further as mentioned herein above, in the decision of Kirti ( supra), women per say cannot be said to be not having income from any activities , as they are presumed to always been doing econ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... instant case, the Tribunal has held that the discretion had not been properly exercised by the ITO and the AAC in taking into account the circumstances in which the assessee was placed and the Tribunal has found that the sources of investments could not be treated as income of the assessee. The High Court has agreed with the said view of the Tribunal. We also do not find any error in the said finding recorded by the Tribunal. There is, thus, no merit in these appeals and the same are, accordingly, dismissed. No order as to costs. 30. The word may had been used by the statute under section 69A , as had been used by the statute under section 69 of the Income Tax Act 1961, therefore applying the same analogy as laid down by SC in the case of Smt. P.K. Noorjahan(supra) , we are of the opinion that the amount deposited by the assessee during the demonetisation. Cannot be treated as income of the assessee. Hence the appeal of the assessee is allowed . 31. We may clarify that this decision may be treated as precedent in respect to proceedings arising out of the cash deposit made by the housewives during the demonetisation scheme 2016, only up to the limit of ₹ 2.5 lakhs on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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