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TMI Blog2023 (3) TMI 351X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ever, once the assessee has brought on record the relevant facts and documentation as well as nexus between transaction of sale and deposit in bank account has been established then in absence of any contrary evidence brought on record, only inference which can be drawn from these facts and circumstances of the case is that the source of deposit is the sale consideration of the agriculture land. No finding has been recorded by the AO as to why the explanation of the assessee regarding other sources of deposits being the advance received against sale of another piece of agriculture land was not found acceptable - In absence of any contrary evidence brought on record by the Revenue, the explanation of the assessee duly corroborated by the affidavit from the buyer and the bank statements reflecting the receipts and refund of Rs. 7,00,000/- is found acceptable and the source of such deposits thus stand explained and no adverse view is warranted in this regard. Regarding explanation of the assessee that there were cash withdrawals earlier made from the bank accounts and which were re-deposited during the year, we have gone through the assessee's bank statements and the cash fl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ture and source of cash deposited in his bank account. In his submission, the assessee submitted that the cash so deposited pertains to proceeds of sale of the property, cash received on account of sale proceeds of the agricultural produce as well as earlier withdrawals made from his bank account. In support of the sale of the property, the assessee submitted copy of the agreement to sell and copy of the sale deed. Further, during the course of assessment proceedings, the AO conducted inquiry from the HDFC Bank and the statement of the buyer, Shri Bohati Devi was also recorded after issuing summons under section 131 of the Act. As per the AO, in her statement, Shri Bohati Devi did not confirm the claim of the assessee nor could provide any details about the transaction. In his submissions, the assessee however stated that there was an agreement to sell and pursuant thereto the assessee has received the sale consideration of Rs. 82,65,000/- from sale of the agriculture land, however, the AO did not agree to the explanation and the submission so filed by the assessee and allowed the explanation of the assessee to the extent of Rs. 42,53,000/- being the consideration as so stated in t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e has purchased agricultural land from him. To all other questions, she denied of any knowledge on the ground that these were known to her father-in-law who has since expired. She did not deny the agreement but to all other questions, she gave a stereotype reply that it was known to her father-in-law. It was submitted that although her husband was alive but the AO choose not to call him. It was submitted that decision of Hon'ble Allahabad High Court in the case of CIT Vs. Intezar Ali (in Income Tax Appeal No. 162 of 2013) is fully applicable to the four corners of the case of the assessee. It was submitted that the AO has given the credit of amount mentioned in registered sale deed but has ignored the agreement to sell by which the assessee has received Rs. 82,65,500/- from Smt. Bohti Devi and the other amounts were deposited out of amount withdrawn from the bank on earlier dates, agriculture income and advance received. It was submitted that it is a common practice specially in rural areas in India that the sale deed are registered at collector rate instead of actual rate. It was submitted that the assessee was not having any major income except from agriculture and sale of mi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Source in case of Dr Use in case of Cr 10.04.2009 136580 136580 Agricultural Income (Admitted by AO) 12.04.2009 82808 219388 Agricultural Income (Admitted by AO) 15.04.2009 2055400 2274788 Agreement (Pb-Pg-2) 07.07.2009 6209600 8484388 Agreement (Pb-Pg-2) 07.07.2009 7900000 584388 Deposit in HDFC Bank A/c 09.07.2009 200000 384388 Deposit in HDFC Bank A/c 09.07.2009 20000 364388 Deposit in HDFC Ban ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ted that from the perusal of the statement as recorded by the AO, it is very much clear that Smt. Bohati Devi has never denied the transaction with assessee. It was submitted that in her statement, she has clearly stated that transaction has been entered into with the assessee through her Father in Law who has since expired. It was submitted that the agreement to sell was duly carrying the signature of the assessee, thumb print of Smt. Bohati Devi and also the thumb print of two witnesses. Further it is also a matter of record that she has never denied that the thumb impression on the sale agreement do not belong to her. It was accordingly submitted that the AO was not correct in stating that Smt. Bohati Devi did not confirm the claim of the assessee. She has duly agreed that she has entered into a transaction of the property through her Father in Law and the AO could have made further enquiry by calling her husband Shri Raj Kumar who was physically present at the time of execution of final sale deed but he choose not to call him for reasons best known to him. In support, reliance was placed on the Jaipur Benches decision in case of Shri Pappu Ram Saran vs. ITO (in ITA No. 1303/JP/ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eposits in the bank account of the assessee, the case of the assessee was reopened to examine the nature and source of such deposits amounting to Rs. 1,02,20,000/-. The assessee has submitted that the major source of the cash deposits was on account of proceeds received from sale of the agriculture land. Besides, other sources of cash deposits were explained in terms of amount received by way of advance against sale of another piece of agriculture land, income from agriculture operations and earlier cash withdrawals which were re-deposited during the year. As per the AO, out of total cash deposits of Rs. 1,02,20,000/-, the assessee could only explain an amount of Rs. 52,14,270/- and balance amount of Rs. 50,05,730/- remained unexplained which was brought to tax in the hands of the assessee. The AO has accepted the explanation regarding receipts from agriculture operations, partially accepted the explanation regarding nature and source of receipts in cash being the sale proceeds from the sale of the agriculture land to the extent of sale consideration as per registered sale deed and not as per agreement to sell, and the remaining explanation regarding other sources of deposits was n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ration which is stated at Rs. 42,53,000/-. Here it is relevant to note that stamp duty has been determined on the basis of same consideration as so stated in the sale deed and therefore, the consideration so stated in the sale deed is as per prescribed circle rate at the relevant point in time. 17. Given the aforesaid documentation so submitted by the assessee wherein the contents of both the documents matches except for the quantum of sale consideration, the AO in order to examine the matter further, called for personal appearance of the buyer. On assessee showing his inability to get the buyer appear before the AO, the summons were issued u/s. 131 and statement of buyer Smt. Bhopati Devi was recorded. 18. On perusal of statement of Smt. Bhopati Devi so recorded u/s. 131, we find that Smt. Bhopati Devi has stated in response to question No. 4 that she is aware that the sale transaction for sale of agriculture land has been entered into in her name with Jagir Singh and in response to further question No. 5 and 6, she has stated that she is not aware of exact amount of sale consideration as the sale transaction was undertaken by her father-in-law on her behalf. Therefore, what ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shows the sale consideration of Rs. 6,45,000/-. The Ld. CIT(A) has consequently allowed the claim of the assessee only to the extent of Rs. 6,45,000/- as stated in the sale deed. The Bench has raised a query about the discrepancy in the name mentioned in the sale deed and the name of the assessee appearing in other records. The Ld. AR has pointed out that the assessee Shri Pappu Ram is also known as @ Prabhu Ram. Thus, in the sale deed of the name of the assessee appearing as Shri Prabhu Ram. After verification of the record we are satisfied that the name appearing in the sale deed alias name of the assessee. The AO has also not disputed the fact that the assessee is one of the joint owners of the land which was sold vide sale deed 08.04.2009. We further note that the cash of Rs. 27,50,000/- was deposited in the bank account of the assessee with Oriental Bank of Commerce, Kishangarh on 09.04.2009. The date of cash deposit is subsequent to the date of sale deed dated 08.04.2009 which prima facie shows that the source of cash deposit has a direct nexus with the sale transaction of the land sold by the assessee jointly with other co-owners vide sale deed dated 08.04.2009. Though the s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he said agreement which has been proved and corroborated by the sale deed go to establish the existence of the agreement between the parties. Further the details of the cash deposited in the bank account of the sellers and their relatives has been reproduced by the Assessing Officer in the assessment proceedings at page No. 4 and 5 of the assessment order as under : S.No . Name of person Bank account No. Deposited cash amount Date Relation with the seller 1. Smt. Dhapu Devi Meena 210501000 32,74,000/- 12/08/2005 Seller of land 2. Sh. Dulharam Meena 1007813 1,50,000/- 10,00,000/- 1,60,000/- 14/05/2005 12/08/2005 16/08/2005 Do 3. Sh. Ballu Ram Meena 1007108 4,00,000/- 11,70,666/- 14/05/2005 12/08/2005 Do 4. Sh. H ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rence which can be drawn from the details of the bank accounts and particularly the deposits made on the particular dates which is just one day after the execution of the agreement to sell and sale deeds that the cash deposits in the bank accounts of the sellers and their relatives is only from the sale consideration received against the sale of agricultural lands in question. There is no other transaction either on those dates or in around those dates of deposits in the bank accounts other than the present transaction of sale of lands by the sellers. Further the Assessing Officer has reproduced the statements of the branch manager wherein the amounts were deposited as well as the relatives of the sellers who have confirmed the receipt of cash and deposit of the same in the bank account. Thus, we find that the assessment framed by the Assessing Officer is not solely based on the statements recorded by the Investigation Wing but there was tangible material in the shape of the bank accounts statements, agreement to sell and sale deeds which are of course not in dispute. The only dispute raised by the assessee is regarding the photo copy of the agreement and its evidentiary value, how ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orded by the Ld. CIT(A) rejecting the explanation so furnished by the assessee. During the course of hearing, the Ld. AR has taken us through the bank statements of the assessee and affidavit of Shri Surender Singh with whom agreement to sell a plot of land for a total consideration of Rs. 19,00,000/- was entered into by the assessee and it was submitted that the assessee has received an amount of Rs. 7,00,000/- on 11/08/2009 but since the deal did not materialize, the said amount was refunded back on 19/08/2009 itself. In absence of any contrary evidence brought on record by the Revenue, the explanation of the assessee duly corroborated by the affidavit from the buyer and the bank statements reflecting the receipts and refund of Rs. 7,00,000/- is found acceptable and the source of such deposits thus stand explained and no adverse view is warranted in this regard. 22. Regarding explanation of the assessee that there were cash withdrawals earlier made from the bank accounts and which were re-deposited during the year, we have gone through the assessee's bank statements and the cash flow statement and find that there were withdrawals and deposits during the year in the two ban ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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