DELHI HIGH COURT - PR. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX-5 VS. LAXMAN INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES LTD.
ITA 169/2017, C. M. APPL.7385/2017
14TH MARCH, 2017

Core Fact of the Case:……….. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s (ITAT) order upholding the Appellate Commissioner’s opinion that the additions made in the course of reassessments were unsustainable, were challenged by the Revenue. The reassessment notice was issued to the assessee for AY 2002-03 on the ground that information received from the Investigation Wing pointed to its being the beneficiary of the accommodation entries that were subjected to addition under Section 68. The Assessing Officer (AO), in the reassessment proceedings, added a sum of Rs. 70,77,290/- . Upon appeal, the CIT(A) took note of the materials filed by the assessee and provided an opportunity to the AO to remand proceedings. The AO merely objected to the materials furnished but did not undertake any verification. The CIT(A), found favour with the assessee, and directed that the amounts brought to tax should be deleted.

Summarised Judgment: ………..This Court notices that the assessee had provided several documents that could have showed light into whether truly the transactions were genuine. It was not a case where the share applicants are merely provided confirmation letters. They had provided their particulars, PAN details, assessment particulars, mode of payment for share application money, i.e. through banks, bank statements, cheque numbers in question, copies of minutes of resolutions authorizing the applications, copies of balance sheets, profit and loss accounts for the year under consideration and even bank statements showing the source of payments made by the companies to the assessee as well as their master debt with ROC particulars. The AO strangely failed to conduct any scrutiny of documents and rested content by placing reliance merely on a report of the Investigation Wing. This reveals spectacular disregard to an AO’s duties in the remand proceedings which the Revenue seeks to inflict upon the assessee in this case. No substantial question of law arises. The appeal is dismissed.

Analysis: In the case of JSM also the Ld. Assessing Officer did not provide any such information to the assessee to rebut the adverse material if any and he did not afford any opportunity of cross examination of all the adverse material on the basis of which impugned addition has been made in the assessment order. It is settled proposition of law that the information gathered behind the back of the assessee cannot be used against him unless until an opportunity of rebutting the same is given to the assessee, It is against the principle of natural justice.