9911796707
TMI Blog1991 (6) TMI 94X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , the assessee had filed its return of income declaring total income of Rs. 1,70,731. On 1- 11-1976, the ITO framed the assessment under section 143(3) of the Act, on a total income of Rs. 1,79,500. 4. It may be mentioned that the assessee had taken loan from various parties, including M.S.T.U. of Rs. 1 lakh. During the course of assessment proceedings, the assessee had filed confirmation letters of the creditors including M.S.T.U. giving their complete address, GIR Numbers, etc. All the loans taken by the assessee were by Account Payee Cheques only. The assessee had repaid the loans as well as the interest thereon to the creditors by Account Payee Cheque only. The ITO had accepted the genuineness of theloans taken by the assessee, inasmu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lose truly and fully all the material facts necessary for the assessment, at the time of the original assessment proceedings, the assessment cannot be reopened under section 147(a)/148 of the Act. It was also stated that since M.S.T.U. had filed confirmation letter about the loan taken by the assessee from it and had also given its GIR Number and full address, the genuineness of the loan cannot be doubted, merely on the ground of the by Shri D.D, Mehta, the Secretary of M.S.T.U. The assessee had also requested the ITO to make available Shri D.D. Mehta, for examination.The ITO, however, not only did not produce Shri D.D. Mehta for the examination of the assessee, but had taken an adverse view against the assessee in the following manner :--- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... assessee vehemently argued that since there was no failure on the part of the assessee to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for the assessment, in the original assessment proceedings, the ITO was not justified in reopening the assessment under section 147(a) of the Act. It was further submitted that for the failure of the ITO to produce Shri D.D. Mehta for the examination of the assessee, no adverse inference could be drawn against the assessee, in view of the fact that in the original assessment proceedings, the assessee had filed confirmation letter of M.S.T.U. wherein its full address and GIR number were given. It was also highlighted that the assessee had taken loan of Rs. 1 lakh from M.S.T.U. by three cheques (Acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... case of Nirmal kumar Ashokkumar v. K.V. Gopi, ITO [1991] 187 ITR 329 to urge that the reopening of the assessment under section 147(a) of the Act was clearly bad in law. On the merits of the case, the learned advocate for the assessee submitted that since the initial onus which lay upon the assessee has been discharged at the time of the assessment originally framed, the IT authorities were not justified in making the addition of Rs. 1,05,000. 9. The learned representative for the department, on the other hand, supported the action of the IT authorities. Relying on the decision in the cases of Kashmiri Lal, Kasturi Lal Co. v. CIT [1980] 79 CTR (Punj. Har.) 174,Abdul RabAbdul Salam (sic) and ITO v. Lakhmani Mewal Das [1976] 103 ITR 43 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cipal amount and Rs. 5,000 being the interest paid thereon. He, therefore, urged that we should uphold the action of the IT authorities. 10. We carefully considered the rival submissions of the parties and the material already broughton record and we are of the view that the assessee cannot successfully challenge the reopening of the assessment under section 147(a) of the Act. In the statement made by Shri D.D. Mehta, he has clearly stated that Rs. 1 lakh given to the assessee was nothing but a bogus hawala loan. In order to examine and verify the statement so made by Shri D.D. Mehta, the ITO was fully justified in reopening the assessment under section 147(a) of the ACL We have carefully gone through the reported decisions relied upon b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ceedings, namely, the confirmation letter of M.S.T.U. giving its full address, GIR number and the fact of advancing loans by Account Payee Cheques only, it is difficult to hold that the assessee has failed to discharge the initial onus, which lay upon it. Viewed from a slightly different angle the position is that the documentary evidence furnished originally is in favour of the assessee and the statement on oath given subsequently is against the assessee ; but on that oral statement, the assessee has not had his right of questioning the deponent. The Department has not brought on record any other attendant Circumstance or any circumstantial evidence to support a view in its favour like the position of the creditor's relevant bank accounts ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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