S. 68 : Cash credits-Gift from spouse-Mere filing of gift deed, PAN and ITR acknowledgment of donor not sufficient-In absence of bank statements, clear trail of funds, source of donor and correlation of remittance, assessee failed to fully discharge primary onus-Matter restored to Assessing Officer for de novo verification-Appeal allowed for statistical purposes. [S. 56(2)(x), 115BBE, 133(6), 143(3), 250]
The assessee claimed to have received a gift of Rs. 12.54 crore from her husband during the relevant previous year and furnished a gift deed, PAN, address, relationship details and acknowledgment of donor’s return. The Assessing Officer treated the amount as unexplained cash credit under section 68 on the ground that despite repeated opportunities, the assessee failed to furnish bank statements of herself and the donor showing actual transfer of funds, the donor’s returned income did not commensurate with the amount gifted, and the source of the alleged gift was not established. The CIT(A) confirmed the addition. On appeal, the Tribunal observed that even before it, the assessee could only produce a joint Punjab National Bank account statement which did not clearly reflect the movement or transfer of the gifted amount; the gift deed and subsequent affidavits also did not specify the mode of transfer, bank account details, or source of funds. The Tribunal further noted discrepancies in the donor’s return disclosures, including Schedule FA and absence of clear correlation between the alleged overseas remittance and the gift. Holding that the assessee had not completely discharged the prima facie onus under section 68, but considering that some material had been produced and factual verification was still required, the Tribunal set aside the orders of the lower authorities and remanded the matter to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication after giving reasonable opportunity to the assessee. (ITA No. 996/Mum/2025, dt. 13-3-2026.) (AY. 2020-21)
Shilpa Shetty Kundra v. DCIT (Mum.)(Trib.) www.itatonline.org.
[Coram : Hon’ble Shri Narender Kumar Choudhry, JM and Hon’ble Shri Prabhash Shankar, AM]