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December 2017

19 Section 68 – Cash credit – A.Y. 2006-07 – Sums outstanding against trade creditors for purchases – Appellate Tribunal concluding that assessee having failed to furnish confirmation had paid in cash from undisclosed sources – Finding not based on any material but on conjectures and surmises – Perverse – Addition cannot be sustained

By K. B. Bhujle
Advocate
Reading Time 3 mins

19.  Cash credit – Section 68 – A.Y. 2006-07 – Sums outstanding against trade creditors for purchases – Appellate Tribunal concluding that assessee having failed to furnish confirmation had paid in cash from undisclosed sources – Finding not based on any material but on conjectures and surmises – Perverse – Addition cannot be sustained

Zazsons Export Ltd. vs. CIT; 397 ITR 40 (All):

The assessee was a manufacturer of leather goods for export purposes. It purchased the raw material on credit from petty dealers, who were shown as trade creditors in the books of account, and payments were made subsequently. For the A.Y. 2006-07, the assessee disclosed the purchase of raw materials from small vendors, part of which amount was confirmed and the remaining was unconfirmed. Such unconfirmed amount was treated as cash credits u/s. 68 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter for the sake of brevity referred to as the “Act”), and added as income of the assessee. The Commissioner (Appeals) deleted the addition. The Appellate Tribunal restored the addition on the ground that the assessee had failed to confirm the amount and that such purchases were made on cash payment, which had not been accounted for and as such liable to be added to the assessee’s income u/s. 68.

On appeal by the assessee, the Allahabad High Court reversed the decision of the Tribunal and held as under:

i)   The credit purchases of raw material shown in the books of account of the assessee from petty dealers even if not confirmed would not mean that it was concealed income or deemed income of the assessee, which could be charged to tax u/s. 68 of the Act. The finding of the Appellate Tribunal that it was possible that the assessee paid them in cash from undisclosed sources without accounting for it and therefore, the amount paid was to be added to the income of the assessee, was based on no material but on conjectures and surmises. The purchases made by the assessee were accepted by the Assessing Officer and the trade practice that payment in respect of the purchases of raw material was made subsequently was not disputed. Therefore, its finding was perverse.

 

ii)   In order to maintain consistency, a view which had been accepted in an earlier order ought not to be disturbed unless there was any material to justify the Department to take a different view of the matter. In respect of the earlier assessment year, 2005-06, the Department had accepted the decision of the Appellate Tribunal that the trade amount due to the trade creditors in the books of account of the assessee could not be added to the income of the assessee. There was nothing on record to show that any appeal had been filed by the Department against that order, which had become conclusive.

 

iii)   The appeal is allowed insofar as the addition of Rs. 1,05,01,948 u/s. 68 of the Act is concerned.”

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