Dipesh Ramesh Vardhan v. Dy CIT ( 2020) 81 ITR 91 (SN) 195 DTR 161/ 208 TTJ 318 ( Mum) (Trib)

S.45: Capital gains – Sale of shares – Penny stock – Assessment in search cases — Unexplained Income — Purchase of shares and sale transactions through Online Mode – Merely on presumption addition cannot be made – The presumption needs to be corroborated by some evidence to establish the same. [ S.10(34) , 68 , 69 132(4) 132(4A) ]

Allowing the appeal of the assessee the Tribunal held that sale transactions took place through recognized stock exchange and statutory Securities Transaction Tax (STT) was paid on sale transactions. In the online platform, the identity of the seller as well as purchaser would not be known. The shares were delivered in demat form though clearing mechanism of the stock exchange. Therefore, unless any link is established, the assessee could not be held to be part of the group indulging into rigging shares prices of the scrips. The sale proceeds were realised through banking channels. There was no evidence of any cash exchange. The findings as well as conclusion of Ld.AO were based on mere suspicion, surmises and hearsay as against settled proposition of law that suspicion howsoever strong could not partake the character of legal evidence. The entire case of Ld.AO was based on mere presumption that the assessee ploughed back its own unaccounted money in the form of bogus LTCG.  The perusal of record would reveal that the assessee purchased certain shares of an entity namely M/s STL as early as September, 2011. The shares were converted into demat form in assessee’s account during the month of March, 2012. The transactions took place through banking channels. The investments were duly reflected by the assessee in financial statements of respective years. The copies of financial statements of M/s STL for FYs 2009-10 & 2010-11 which led to investment by the assessee in that entity was also furnished during the course of assessment proceedings. Subsequently, M/s STL got merged with another entity viz. M/s SAL pursuant to scheme of amalgamation u/s  391 to 394 of The Companies Act, 1956. The Scheme was duly approved by Hon’ble Bombay High Court vide order dated 22/03/2013, a copy of which is on record. Consequently, the shares of M/s STL held by the assessee got swapped with the shares of M/s SAL and new shares were allotted to the assessee during June, 2013 pursuant to the approved scheme of amalgamation. M/s SAL is stated to be listed public company Group ‘A’ shares signifying high trades with high liquidity. The assessee has sold these shares through its stock broker namely M/s Unique Stockbro Private Limited in online platform of the recognised stock exchange during the month of March, 2014. The selling price was in the range of Rs.489/- to Rs 491  per share. The transactions took place through online mechanism after complying with all the formalities and procedure including payment of STT. The delivery of the shares was through clearing mechanism of the stock exchange and sale consideration was received through banking channels. The transactions are duly evidenced by contract notes, demat statements, bank statements and other documentary evidences. The key person of assessee group, in his statement, maintained the position that trading transactions were genuine transactions carried out through stock exchange following all process and legal procedures. The assessee also filed trading volume data and price range of the scrip for a period of more than 2 years i.e. from Jan, 2013 to July, 2015. The shares reflected healthy trading volume and the price range reflected therein was in the range of Rs.360/- to Rs.600/- per share. The price range was stated to be in the same range for 15 months after the period of sale of shares by the assessee, which has not been disputed by the revenue. On the basis of all these facts, it could be gathered that the assessee had duly discharged the onus casted upon him to prove the genuineness of the stated transactions and the onus had shifted on revenue to rebut the same.The presumption needs to be corroborated by some evidence to establish the same.  ( AY. 2014 -15)