The assessee company received share application money of a certain amount from an investor company. Assessing Officer held that said investor company was a shell company which was created and controlled by the assessee group for the purpose of providing accommodation entries. He also held that the enquiry revealed that funds ostensibly shown as share application money originated from the assessee group itself. He treated share application money as unexplained cash credit under section 68  of the Act. Tribunal deleted the addition. On appeal, the Court held that the entity had no business activity, no infrastructure, no employees, and was not even traceable at its registered address. Its financial statements revealed meagre income, which, by no stretch of imagination, could justify investment of several crores of rupees in the assessee company. Further, the money trail unearthed by the Assessing Officer demonstrated that funds originating from the coffers of the assessee group itself were routed through a web of layering and multiple accounts controlled by entry operators and eventually reintroduced into the assessee’s books in the guise of share application money and premium.  Mere production of incorporation certificates, PAN numbers, income tax returns, or showing that transactions were routed through banking channels could not discharge the burden of proof under section 68. Since the Assessing Officer’s conclusion was founded upon tangible, cogent and independent evidence, and not on conjecture, the addition made by the Assessing Officer was justified. (AY. 2014-15)