S. 69 : Unexplained Investments-Alleged on money-Purchase of flat-Survey statement-Opportunity of cross examination is not provided- Merely on the basis of statement of the accountant of the builder no addition can be made. [S. 132(4), 133A]
The assesseee purchased the flat from shah Hosecon Pvt. Ltd. In the course of survey in the premises of the builder certain sheet was found and the statement of the accounted was recorded. The accountant of the company has accepted the receipt of the on money. In response to show cause notice the assessee denied the payment of on money. The assessee also requested for cross examination of the person who has given the statement. The Assessing Officer issued the summons to the accountant of the Company and appear for cross examination. In spite of summons no body appeared on behalf of the builder. The assessee filed an affidavit denying the payment of any cash amount. The Assessing officer made an addition of Rs 30 lakhs as unexplained investments. On appeal CIT(A) affirmed the order of the AO. On appeal the Tribunal held that statements recorded during survey proceedings u/s. 133A does not hold evidentiary value unless corroborated by independent evidence. The Tribunal relied on the ruling in the case of Yash Synthetic Pvt. Ltd. (ITA No. 268/Mum/2024 dt. 18-6-2024 and Anil Jaggi v. ACIT (ITA No. 3049/Mum/2016 dt. 20-12-2017), which stated that no addition could be made based solely on uncorroborated survey statements. The Tribunal held that the AO did not consider the affidavit, and bank statements, or conduct further inquiries. The addition is deleted. (AY 2014 – 2015) (ITA No. 3233/Mum/2024 dated 21/02/2025)
Aarti Sudarshan Soni v. ITO, (Mum)(Trib.) www.itatonline.org
(Coram : Hon’ble Shri Amit Shukla, JM & Hon’ble Ms Padmavathy S, AM)