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Smart Summary

Structured Summary of the Provided Opinion

Factual and Procedural Background

The Assessing Officer (AO) added Rs. 95,00,000 as income under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act on the ground that amounts received as share application money were not shown to be genuine: the parties to whom shares were issued could not be traced at the addresses given, some summons could not be served, and in respect of some parties it was observed that the amount was deposited in their account just before issuance of cheques. The Tribunal deleted that addition after finding that the assessee had produced voluminous documentary evidence (PANs, confirmations, bank statements showing payment of share application money, share application forms, allotment letters, share certificates, and books of account including balance sheets and profit & loss accounts of the parties). The Revenue filed the present appeal raising specific questions (set out in the opinion) challenging the Tribunal's deletion of the addition. The Court considered submissions and dismissed the appeal, holding that no substantial question of law arises.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the Tribunal was perverse in deleting the addition of Rs. 95,00,000 made under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act by relying only on documentary evidence produced by the respondent company while ignoring that these entities were not traceable at their given addresses.
  2. Whether the Tribunal erred in not appreciating the observations made by the Delhi High Court in Nova Promoters and Finlease Pvt. Ltd. (18 Taxman.com 217) that cases of this type cannot be decided only on the basis of documentary evidence and surrounding circumstances must be taken into account.
  3. Whether the Tribunal ought to have taken note that the assessee did not produce even a single party before the AO despite agreeing before the CIT(A) to produce all parties during remand proceedings.

Arguments of the Parties

Revenue's Contentions

  • The Tribunal was perverse in deleting the addition of Rs. 95,00,000 made under Section 68 by relying solely on documentary evidence while ignoring that the entities were not traceable at their given addresses (question 6.3 in the appeal).
  • The Tribunal failed to appreciate the Delhi High Court's observations in Nova Promoters and Finlease Pvt. Ltd. (18 Taxman.com 217) that such cases cannot be decided only on documentary evidence and surrounding circumstances must be considered (question 6.4 in the appeal).
  • The Tribunal ought to have noted that the assessee did not produce any party before the AO despite an undertaking to do so during remand proceedings (question 6.5 in the appeal).

Assessee's Contentions

  • The assessee produced PANs of all the creditors, confirmations, bank statements showing payment of share application money, share application forms, allotment letters, share certificates and the books of account; the balance sheets and profit and loss accounts of the parties disclosed that they had sufficient funds to invest in the assessee's shares.
  • The assessee relied on the Division Bench judgment in CIT v. Gagandeep Infrastructure (P.) Ltd. [2017] 80 taxmann.com 272/247 Taxman 245/394 ITR 680 (Bom.) and the order of the Apex Court in Commissioner Of Income Tax v. Lovely Exports Private Limited. [2008] 216 CTR 195.
  • As recorded in the opinion, a submission attributed to "Mr. Pinto, the learned counsel for the Assessee" states that the AO added Rs. 95 lakhs because, in the AO's view, the assessee had not discharged its onus to establish identity, creditworthiness and genuineness of transactions, and that parties did not respond to summons; it is also recorded in the opinion that the Tribunal accepted the assessee's case on the basis of documentary evidence and, according to that submission, failed to consider relevant circumstances and facts.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
CIT v. Gagandeep Infrastructure (P.) Ltd. [2017] 80 taxmann.com 272/247 Taxman 245/394 ITR 680 (Bom.). Relied upon to support the proposition that voluminous documentary evidence (PANs, confirmations, bank statements, share issuance records, books of account) can establish genuineness so that non-appearance of parties before the AO alone would not negate the assessee's case. The Court noted that the Tribunal had considered and applied this judgment and held that it was applicable in the facts and circumstances of the present case.
Commissioner Of Income Tax v. Lovely Exports Private Limited. [2008] 216 CTR 195. Relied upon by the assessee's counsel (as recorded in the opinion) in support of the assessee's position regarding discharge of onus and documentary evidence. The opinion records that the assessee's counsel relied on this decision; the Court's reasoning explicitly references and applies the Gagandeep judgment, while the opinion records reliance on Lovely Exports by counsel but does not state a distinct application of it beyond noting the reliance.
Nova Promoters and Finlease Pvt. Ltd. 18 Taxman.com 217 As described in the appeal, cited for the proposition (observed by the Delhi High Court) that cases of this type cannot be decided only on the basis of documentary evidence and surrounding circumstances must be taken into account. The Revenue relied on this observation to argue that the Tribunal erred. The Court, however, upheld the Tribunal's approach in the present facts, finding the documentary evidence produced sufficient and dismissing the appeal.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The Court first recited the AO's reasons for adding Rs. 95 lakhs under Section 68: non-traceability of parties at given addresses, failure to serve summons on some, and instances where amounts were deposited in accounts just before cheques were issued. The Tribunal, on the other hand, had examined the documentary evidence produced by the assessee — PANs and confirmations of creditors, bank statements evidencing payment of share application money, share application forms, allotment letters, share certificates, and the books of account (including balance sheets and profit & loss accounts) of the creditors — and concluded that these records demonstrated the genuineness of the transactions and that the creditors had sufficient funds for the investments.

The Court accepted the Tribunal's conclusion that voluminous documentary evidence of the character produced in this case meant that mere non-appearance of the parties before the AO would not, by itself, negate the assessee's case. The Court expressly observed that the judgment in CIT v. Gagandeep Infrastructure (P.) Ltd. (supra) was applicable to the facts and circumstances of the present matter. Considering these findings and the applicability of that precedent, the Court held that no substantial question of law arises from the appeal and therefore dismissed the appeal.

Holding and Implications

Holding: The appeal is dismissed; no substantial question of law arises.

Implications: The Tribunal's deletion of the addition of Rs. 95,00,000 under Section 68 stands. The direct consequence is that the assessee's position (as accepted by the Tribunal) is upheld in respect of this addition. There is no order as to costs. The opinion does not announce any broader precedent beyond applying the established authority referenced (notably the Division Bench decision in Gagandeep Infrastructure) and states that no substantial question of law arises in the appeal.

    Commissioner of Income-tax v. Orchid Industries (P.) Ltd.

    judgment

    1. The Revenue has filed the appeal on following questions;

    "6.3 Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case and in law, orders of the Tribunal was perverse in deleting the addition of Rs. 95,00,000/- made u/s. 68 of the Act, relying only on the documentary evidence produced by the Respondent Company while ignoring the key factor that these entities were not traceable at their given addresses.

    6.4 Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case and in law, the Tribunal erred in not appreciating the observations made by the Delhi High Court in Nova Promoters and Finlease Pvt. Ltd. 18 Taxman.com 217 wherein the Court has observed that cases of this type cannot be decided only on the basis of documentary evidences above and there is need to take into account the surrounding circumstances.

    6.5 The Tribunal ought to have taken note of the fact that the assessee was not able to produce even a single party before the AO despite agreeing before the CIT(A) that it will produce all parties before the AO during remand proceedings."

    2. Mr. Pinto, the learned counsel for the Assessee submits that the Assessing Officer upon considering all the facts had added Rs. 95 lakhs as income under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act. It needs to be considered that the Assessee had not discharged its onus to establish that the amount was received by the Assessee from the share holders as share application money. The Assessee could not prove the identity of the creditors, their credit worthiness and the genuineness of the transactions. The party from whom the Assessee had received the share amount never responded to the summons issued by the Assessing Officer. The Assessing Officer has considered the said aspect and thereafter has added the amount under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act. According to the learned counsel, the Tribunal only on the basis that documents are available has accepted the case of the Assessee. The Tribunal has failed to consider the circumstances and the facts which are relevant.

    3. The learned counsel for the Assessee supports the order and submits that the Assessee had discharged its onus. The Assessee had produced the PAN of all the creditors along with the confirmation, Bank Statement showing payment of share application money and relevant record is produced with regard to the allotment of shares to those parties. The share application form, allotment letter, share certificate are also produced. Even the balance-sheet, profit and loss account, the books of account of these creditors were produced on record showing that they had sufficient funds for investing in the shares of the Assessee. The learned counsel relies on the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in case of CIT v. Gagandeep Infrastructure (P.) Ltd. [2017] 80 taxmann.com 272/247 Taxman 245/394 ITR 680 (Bom.) and the order of the Apex Court in case of Commissioner Of Income Tax v. Lovely Exports Private Limited. [2008] 216 CTR 195 .

    4. We have considered the submissions.

    5. The Assessing Officer added Rs. 95 lakhs as income under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act only on the ground that the parties to whom the share certificates were issued and who had paid the share money had not appeared before the Assessing Officer and the summons could not be served on the addresses given as they were not traced and in respect of some of the parties who had appeared, it was observed that just before issuance of cheques, the amount was deposited in their account.

    6. The Tribunal has considered that the Assessee has produced on record the documents to establish the genuineness of the party such as PAN of all the creditors along with the confirmation, their bank statements showing payment of share application money. It was also observed by the Tribunal that the Assessee has also produced the entire record regarding issuance of shares i.e. allotment of shares to these parties, their share application forms, allotment letters and share certificates, so also the books of account. The balance sheet and profit and loss account of these persons discloses that these persons had sufficient funds in their accounts for investing in the shares of the Assessee. In view of these voluminous documentary evidence, only because those persons had not appeared before the Assessing Officer would not negate the case of the Assessee. The judgment in case of Gagandeep Infrastructure (P.) Ltd. (supra) would be applicable in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

    7. Considering the above, no substantial question of law arises. The appeal stands dismissed. However, there is no order as to costs.

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    Commissioner of Income-tax v. Orchid Industries (P.) Ltd.
    (Jul 5, 2017)