ITAT Delhi Upholds Deletion Of ₹18.63 Crore, Says Direct Payment To Developer Not Unexplained Cash

The New Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 24 April upheld the deletion of an addition of Rs. 18.63 crore made against Sachin Gaur, an individual taxpayer, and held that payments made directly by subsequent buyers to a developer cannot be treated as unexplained money of the seller under Section 69A of the Income Tax Act. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Yogesh Kumar U.S. and Accountant Member Manish Agarwal held: “It is observed that while making the said addition...

Cash Receipt In Agricultural Land Sale Not 'Unexplained' Where Duly Explained: ITAT New Delhi

The New Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 17 April, held that cash receipts arising from a duly evidenced agricultural land sale could not be treated as unexplained cash credit under Section 68 where the identity of the payer, genuineness of the transaction, and supporting documentation were established. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Vimal Kumar and Accountant Member S Rifaur Rahman allowed the appeal filed by Angad Developers Pvt Ltd against the order of the Commissioner of...

Approval By Additional Commissioner Valid As “Joint Commissioner” Under Income Tax Act: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court, on 8 April, held that approval granted by an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax satisfies the statutory requirement under Section 274(2) of the Income Tax Act for imposing penalties. It clarified that the term “Joint Commissioner” includes an Additional Commissioner under Section 2(28C) of the Act. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by Service Cooperative Bank Limited, holding that the challenge failed on the limited question of the...

Depreciation Cannot Be Combined With Revival Of Original Cost For Indexation Benefit: ITAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 21 April held that a taxpayer cannot claim depreciation on an asset in earlier years and thereafter seek to revive its original cost of acquisition to claim higher indexation benefits while computing capital gains on its sale. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Siddhartha Nautiyal and Accountant Member Narendra Prasad Sinha dismissed an appeal filed by Shree Vaidehi Impex Pvt Ltd for assessment year 2016–17 against an order of...

Delhi High Court Cuts ₹80.42 Lakh Addition To ₹68.47 Lakh, Says Taxpayers' Claim Was Relied On Despite Rejection

The Delhi High Court has reduced the addition to the taxpayers' income from Rs.80.42 lakh to Rs.68.47 lakh in a cash seizure case, holding that the Assessing Officer could not rely on the assessee's claim of having “borrowed/collected” Rs.80.42 lakh from 17 persons after rejecting that very explanation, terming such an approach “perverse” in the absence of any independent material.A Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar partly allowed an appeal under Section 260A of the Income...

ITAT Delhi Upholds Revision Order Against Amazon Retail Over Lack of Inquiry Into Expenses, Related Party Payments

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) at Delhi has dismissed an appeal filed by Amazon Retail India Private Limited challenging a revision order under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act, holding that the assessing officer failed to conduct necessary enquiries in a case selected for complete scrutiny before accepting the return declaring a loss of Rs. 639.73 crore.A coram comprising Judicial Member Satbeer Singh Godara and Accountant Member Amitabh Shukla held that the assessment order suffered...

ITAT Delhi Deletes ₹1.05 Crore Addition On Dissolved Firm, Says Income Taxed In Surviving Partner's Hands

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi Bench, directed deletion of a Rs. 1.05 crore addition on a partnership firm, holding that no addition could be made in the hands of a dissolved firm when the same receipts had already been offered to tax in the hands of the successor proprietorship. Judicial Member Sudhir Kumar and Accountant Member Manish Agarwal observed, "no addition could be made in the hands of the assessee firm which has already been dissolved in preceding year for the...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Cap On Export Unit Tax Deduction Based On Sister Concern Profits

The Bombay High Court has held that deduction under Section 10B of the Income Tax Act, which grants tax relief to export-oriented units on profits derived from exports, cannot be restricted merely by comparing the assessee's profit margins with those of a sister concern, in the absence of any material establishing an arrangement to inflate profits. “The capping of the profit share of the Assessee on which deduction under Section 10B could be claimed at 19% solely on the basis of the sister...

Income Tax | Reference To District Valuation Officer Cannot Be Used To Initiate Assessment Proceedings: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has dismissed the revenue's appeal against Legend Estates Pvt. Ltd. and held that a reference to the District Valuation Officer under Section 142A of the Income Tax Act is untenable where the taxpayer's books of accounts are neither rejected nor found defective. It also held that a reference under Section 142A can be made only during the course of assessment or reassessment proceedings and not for the purpose of initiating such proceedings. A Division Bench of Justice...

Interest Earned By Co-operative Credit Society On Bank Deposits Eligible For Tax Deduction: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has held that interest earned by the Hyderabad-based co-operative credit society on bank deposits made from its business funds is eligible for deduction under the provision applicable to co-operative societies providing credit facilities to their members."It is clear that eligibility for deduction under Section 80P(2)(a) requires that the claim must relate to the profits and gains of business attributable to one or more of the activities specified therein. In the present...

Telangana HC Upholds ITAT Order Rectifying Contradiction That Allowed Both Taxpayer and Revenue Appeals

The Telangana High Court has upheld an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order that corrected its own contradictory ruling after it had simultaneously allowed both the assessee's and the Revenue's appeals on the very same issue. Holding that such an outcome was inherently inconsistent, a bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao observed the tribunal was justified in stepping in to resolve the contradiction, especially when it had already decided the issue on...

Search Under IT Act Is Person-Centric; Premises Don't Decide 'Searched Person': Karnataka High Court

Holding that a “searched person” under the Income Tax Act is determined by the person against whom statutory satisfaction is recorded and not by whose premises are searched, the Karnataka High Court on Friday ruled that a taxpayer cannot be treated as a searched person merely because a search was conducted at his premises.The ruling came in a case where the tax department initiated proceedings against the taxpayer under Section 153C based on documents seized during a search conducted at his...