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TMI Blog2023 (4) TMI 458X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . 378/JP/2022 - - - Dated:- 15-2-2023 - Hon ble Shri Sandeep Gosain, Judicial Member For the Assessee : Shri Anoop Bhatia, CA For the Revenue : Smt. Monisha Choudhary, JCIT ORDER PER: SANDEEP GOSAIN, JM This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against order of the ld. CIT(A) dated 25-07-2022, National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi [ hereinafter referred to as (NFAC) ] for the assessment year 2010-11 wherein the assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal. 1. The assessee is an individual retired from Indian Army and engaged in agriculture and livestock breeding in Dourai, Ajmer. An assessment order was passed u/s 147 rws 143(3) of the Act by ld AO for the AY 2010-11 wherein the ld AO has considered a sum of Rs 10,00,000 deposited by assessee in his saving bank a/c number 10147179735 as unexplained and treated it as income from undisclosed source and added it to total income of assessee thereby assessing the total taxable income at Rs 10,65,900 which includes income declared by assessee at Rs 65,900/-. Aggrieved by such order passed by ld AO assessee filed an appeal before the CIT(A) which was dismissed vide an order dt. 23.05.2018. Aggr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the Act for the year under consideration. Aggrieved by the order of the AO, the assessee preferred an appeal before the ld. CIT(A) who dismissed the appeal and upheld the addition made by the AO. However, the assessee further took the matter before the ITAT on 01-08-2018 and ITAT vide order dated 25-11- 2019 restored the matter back to the file of the ld. CIT(A) for deciding the same on merits. Consequently, the ld. CIT(A) after hearing the contentions of both the parties dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee by observing as under:- 4.5 I have carefully considered the submission of the appellant, bank account details, and assessment order dt. 07.09.2017 is seen that the appellant had deposited Cash of Rs. 10,00,000/- on 25.02.2010 in Saving bank account which was stated to be received by appellant from his father who expired on 01.04.2013 in regard to source of aforesaid amount of Rs. 10,00,000/-, the appellant claimed that this cash amount was given to him by his father out of the sale proceeds of his wife's (mother of appellant) ornaments (both gold and silver), past savings and agricultural accumulations. But in support of his claim, the appellant did not provide ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... term agriculture in depth in the case of CIT v. Raja Benoy Kumar Sahas Roy (1957) 32 ITR 466 (SC). It is a landmark case for the understanding of agriculture under the Income Tax Act. It was an interesting case wherein assesse was growing tress on a forest land. Growing of trees was inter alia includes of cutting of trees and leaving the stumps to re-grow. The Supreme Court held such income as agriculture income and held as under:- The primary sense in which the term agriculture is understood is agarfield and cultra-cultivation, i.e. the cultivation of the field, and if the term is understood only in that sense agriculture would be restricted only to cultivation of the land in the strict sense of the term, meaning thereby, tilling of the land, sowing of the seeds, planting and similar operations on the land. They would be the basic operations and would require the expenditure of human skill and labour upon the land itself. There are, however, other operations which have got to be resorted to by the agriculturist and which are absolutely necessary for the purpose of effectively raising the produce from the land. They are operations to be performed after the produce sprouts fro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fficient to bring within the scope of the term and such extension of the term 'agriculture' is unwarranted. The term 'agriculture cannot be dissociated from the primary significance thereof which is that of cultivation of the land and even though a can be extended in the manner stated before both in regard to the process of agriculture and the products which are raised upon the land, there is no warrant at all for extending to all activities which have relation to the land or are in any way connected with the land. The use of the word agriculture in regard to such activities would certainly be a distortion of the term It the term 'agriculture' is understood as comprising within its scope the basic as well as subsequent operations in the process of agriculture and the raising on the lands of products which have some utility ether for consumption for trade and commerce, will be seen that the term agriculture receives a wider interpretation both in regard to its operations as well as the results of the same. Nevertheless there is present all throughout the basic idea that there must be at the bottom of its cultivation of land in the sense of tiling of the la ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... assessee has also no explanation as to why the father of the assessee Shri Narayan Choudhary has not deposited such huge cash in his bank a/c and why such a huge cash claimed to have been kept at home. 6. No books of a/cs or bills and vouchers which indicate the receipt of Rs. 10,00,000/- in hand by Shri Narayan Choudhary have been maintained/kept 7.When the assessee are three brothers than why his father had given impugned cash to assessee only. Perusal of AO's findings shows that appellant father was having bank a/c and apart from the appellant he had many successors also. It is not reasonably explained by the appellant as to why the entire gift was given to the appellant only and not his other family members. It is also a case, where appellant has not claimed that the cash payment was received by his father from sale of agricultural land. His mother also expired in 1975 and since than his all brothers got married it is very unusual that his father was keeping his mother's jewelery, rather than distributing among the daughter in laws and daughter. In conclusion of the above, it is concluded that the amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- which was deposited in the bank belon ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... above. Thus when there was no contradictory material in possession of ld. AO, the explanation accorded by assessee, and duly substantiated by affidavits, affirming on oath the said contention, cannot be rejected. Also submitted that the affidavits which are duly notarized, hold legal identity, cannot be rejected merely on surmises, without there being any contradictory material on records. This contention of assesse is duly supported by the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of M/s Mehta Parikh Co Vs. CIT II, wherein while accepting the contention of the assessee it has been held that, A mere calculation of the nature indulged in by the Income tax Officer or the Appellate Assistant Commissioner was not enough, without any further scrutiny, to dislodge the position taken up by the appellants, supported as it was, by the entries in the cash book and the affidavits put in by the appellants before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. Thus in view of above it is humbly submitted that the affidavits of witnesses, duly affirming the source of funds by the father of the assessee deserves to be accepted and since the cash deposited into the bank account belongs to his f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... its source which is available at PB page 12, affidavit of two witnesses affirming facts in assessee affidavit which is available at PB Page 13, copy of bank statement (State Bank of India) of assessee which is available at PB page 16, affidavit of assessee affirming payment of shares of brothers from the cash received from father which is available at PB Page 17, affidavits of brothers affirming receipt of their shares alongwith their Adhar Cards which at available at PB Pages 18 to 21. From the records, the Bench noticed that the source of said amount in the hands of the father was tried to explain by the assessee as being received from sale of agricultural proceeds, sale of certain jewellery belonging to his mother and past savings. It was contended that since the father had died and jewellery was sold in the local market where he resided, it was not possible to file the bills for such sale. Therefore, in support of his contentions and during the appellate proceedings before the ld. CIT(A) the assessee had filed two affidavits i.e. one by the assessee and other by two witnesses affirming on oath the transactions of sale of jewellery by his father and handing over the same to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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