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Hare Shanker Investments & Trading Company Ltd. v. Cit
Tribunal Opinion Summary — Appeal by Assessee (Assessment Year 2014-15)
Factual and Procedural Background
The assessee appealed against the order of the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-4, New Delhi dated 16.02.2018 for assessment year 2014-15. The grounds of appeal included allegations that the Assessing Officer ("AO") relied upon material, investigation reports and third-party statements not shared with or confronted to the assessee (invoking natural justice), and that the AO erred in disallowing a recorded share trading loss of Rs. 13,09,876 without cogent reasoning.
Brief chronology and facts as stated in the opinion:
- The assessee filed its e-return on 22.11.2014 declaring income of Rs. 4,72,740. The return was processed under section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ("the Act").
- Notice under section 143(2) dated 18.09.2015 and questionnaires (05.04.2016 and 12.05.2016) with notice under section 142(1) were issued; the assessee's authorised representative responded and submitted documents.
- The assessee company was described as incorporated on 10.03.2013 (converted into a limited company on 11.04.1996 in the text) with NBFC activities and registration from RBI (Certificate No. B.14.02343 dated 07.10.2012). The company also dealt in shares.
- The Directorate of Investigation, Kolkata conducted a country-wide probe into an alleged racket generating bogus Long Term Capital Gains and Short Term Capital Losses through price-rigged penny stock transactions; the AO adopted the Directorate's described modus operandi in his order.
- The AO recorded that the assessee purchased certain shares (11000 shares of M/s Luminaire Technologies Ltd. and 300 shares of M/s Nikki Global Finance Ltd.) in 2013 and later sold them at prices that produced losses. The AO concluded these were pre-decided transactions producing bogus short term capital loss (STCL) of Rs. 13,09,876, added that amount to the assessee's income and also made other additions (e.g., Rs. 17,02,000 as notional interest and disallowance of ROC fees). The assessment was completed under section 143(3) by order dated 29.12.2016.
- The CIT(A) partly allowed the assessee's appeal but upheld the addition of Rs. 13,09,876 as bogus loss by order dated 16.02.2018. The assessee appealed to the Tribunal.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the AO infringed the principles of natural justice by relying on material, investigation reports or third-party statements that were not shared with or confronted to the assessee?
- Whether the AO was justified in disallowing the recorded share trading loss of Rs. 13,09,876 and treating it as a bogus short term capital loss?
- Whether the AO provided cogent reasons based on facts and investigations (as distinct from conjecture or reliance on unrelated instances) to support the additions made?
Arguments of the Parties
Appellant's Arguments
- The assessee's counsel filed written submissions and a Paper Book (pages 1–95) containing documentary evidence which, he argued, the revenue authorities had not properly considered.
- The assessee requested the Tribunal to set aside the issue in dispute to the file of the AO for fresh adjudication with directions to examine each document filed by the assessee and to give the assessee adequate opportunity of being heard.
Respondent's (Revenue) Arguments
- The Departmental Representative relied on the orders of the authorities below (AO and CIT(A)).
- The DR filed written submissions dated 03.10.2019 asserting that the issue in dispute had already been adjudicated and decided in favour of the Revenue in the case of Udit Kalra vs. ITO (ITA No. 6717/Del/2017 dated 08.01.2019) and that that decision was upheld by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in Udit Kalra vs. ITO (ITA No. 220/2019 & CM No. 10774/2019, order dated 08.03.2019). The DR also cited various decisions of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench), Hon'ble Punjab & Haryana High Court and decisions of the ITAT (details in the written submissions).
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| Udit Kalra vs. ITO, ITA No. 6717/Del/2017 (decided 08.01.2019) | Presented by the Department as a decision adjudicating the issue in dispute in favour of the Revenue (as stated in the DR's written submissions). | The Tribunal noted the DR relied upon this decision. The Tribunal's order does not adopt this precedent as a basis for disposing the present appeal; instead the Tribunal remanded the matter for re-examination of documents by the AO. |
| Udit Kalra vs. ITO, ITA No. 220/2019 & CM No. 10774/2019 (order dated 08.03.2019) | Presented by the Department as an instance where the ITAT decision was upheld by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court, cited in support of the Revenue's position (as stated in the DR's written submissions). | The Tribunal recorded that this High Court order was cited by the DR. The Tribunal nevertheless directed re-examination by the AO and did not dispose the appeal on the basis of that precedent in the opinion text. |
| Various decisions of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) | Specific rule or principle not detailed in the opinion; referenced generally by the DR's written submissions. | Referred to in the Revenue's written submissions; the opinion does not detail the Tribunal's substantive reliance on or application of these decisions. |
| Various decisions of the Hon'ble Punjab & Haryana High Court | Specific rule or principle not detailed in the opinion; referenced generally by the DR's written submissions. | Referred to in the Revenue's written submissions; the opinion does not detail application of these decisions by the Tribunal. |
| Various decisions of the ITAT (other benches) | Specific rule or principle not detailed in the opinion; referenced generally by the DR's written submissions. | Referred to in the Revenue's written submissions; the Tribunal's order does not set out any substantive reliance upon these decisions in disposing of the appeal. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Tribunal Member (H.S. Sidhu) heard both parties and examined the record, including the Paper Book (pages 1–95) filed by the assessee and the case laws relied upon by both sides. The Tribunal's reasoning proceeded as follows (drawn only from the opinion):
- The Tribunal observed that the AO and the CIT(A) decided the issue relating to the Short Term Capital Loss against the assessee without adequately examining the documentary evidence that the assessee had filed. The opinion lists the contents of the Paper Book (written submissions, statements of sale and purchase, broker contract notes, letters justifying loans and transactions, confirmations from parties, balance sheet, bank statements, return acknowledgements, notices, etc.).
- Because those documentary evidences "go to the root of the issues in dispute," the Tribunal concluded that they require re-examination at the level of the AO.
- The Tribunal expressly stated that it was not commenting on the merits of the case or expressing any appreciation of the evidence, because doing so would prejudice the mind of the AO. Instead, the Tribunal chose to remit the matter to the AO for fresh examination as per law.
- The Tribunal therefore set aside the issues in dispute and directed the AO to re-examine the matter after giving the assessee adequate opportunity of being heard.
Holding and Implications
Core Holding: The Tribunal set aside the issues in dispute to the file of the Assessing Officer for fresh examination after giving the assessee adequate opportunity of being heard. The appeal was recorded as allowed for statistical purposes.
Implications and direct consequences (as stated in the opinion):
- The direct effect of the Tribunal's decision is a remand: the AO must re-examine the documentary evidence filed by the assessee and adjudicate the issue in accordance with law, ensuring the assessee is provided an adequate opportunity to be heard.
- The Tribunal did not decide the substantive question on the merits (i.e., whether the STCL of Rs. 13,09,876 was bogus). The Tribunal explicitly declined to comment on merits to avoid prejudicing the AO.
- The opinion does not state that a new precedent has been laid down; the decision is a remand for factual/legal re-examination rather than a pronouncement of new legal doctrine.
Order pronounced on 03.01.2020. Judicial Member: H.S. Sidhu. The Tribunal recorded copies forwarded to appellant, respondent, CIT, CIT(A), Assistant Registrar and DR ITAT, New Delhi.
This appeal by the assessee is preferred against the order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax [Appeals]-4, New Delhi dated 16.2.2018 pertaining to assessment year 2014-15 on the following grounds:-
i) On the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, Ld. AO has stated and relied upon some material, investigation report, statements of third parties recorded, which were never shared or confronted to the assessee and thus the principle of natural justice are infringed and therefore the impugned assessment order is liable to beq quashed. ii) On the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, Ld. AO has erred and was not justified in making disallowance of the duty transacted and recorded share trading loss of Rs. 13,09,876/-, without any cogent reason or controverting the all possible documentary evidences produced by the assessee. iii) On the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, Ld. AO has failed to provide any cogent reasons arising on the facts of the case or the investigations carried out by him except on conjectures drawing parallel from other instances which did not have any link with the transaction in question. iv) The above grounds of appeal are independent without prejudice to each other.
v) The assessee craves to add, modify any new ground of appeal or adduce any new evidence during the course of appeal, as may be necessary, for the disposal of appeal and discharge of due justice to the appellant.
2. Brief facts of the case are that assessee filed its e-return on 22.11.2014 declaring an income of Rs. 4,72,740/-. The return of the assessee was processed u/s. 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short Act). Notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act dated 18.9.2015 was served upon the assessee and questionnaire dated 05.04.2016 and 12.5.2016 were issued alongwith notice u/s. 142(1) of the Act asking the assessee to submit the required information by 19.4.2016 and 25.5.2016. In response to the same, the AR appeared and filed the requisite details from time to time which were taken into consideration by the AO while completing the assessment. 2.1 The Assessee company was incorporated on 10.3.2013 as a Private Limited Company and converted into Limited Company on 11.4.1996 and its main object was to carry out the NBFC activities. The Company has also taken the registration from RBI as NBFC Company vide Certificate of Registration No. B.14.02343 dated 07.10.2012 issued by RBI, New Delhi Regional Office. Apart from that, the assessee company is also dealing in shares. 2.2 The Directorate of Investigation, Kolkata carried out a country-wide investigation to unearth the organized racket of generating bogus entries of Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) which has adjusted against profit earned in other heads of income during the year. The beneficiary holds the share for one year, the statutory period after which LTCG is exempted u/s. 10(38) of the Act. In the meantime the operators rig the price of the stock and gradually rise its price many times, often 500 to 1000 times. This is done through low volume transaction indulged in by the dummies of the operator at a pre-determined price. When the price reaches the desired level the beneficiary who bought the shares at a nominal price, is made to sell it to a dummy paper company of the operator. For this, unaccounted cash is provided by the beneficiary which is routed through a few layers of paper companies by the operator and finally is parked with the dummy paper company that will buy the shares. 2.3 The AO explained the modus operandi in his assessment order and finally has written that the Directorate of Investigation, Kolkata investigated transactions in 84 such penny stock shares quoted on BSE and examined on oath a large number of brokers, directors of companies that finally purchased the shares, the promoters of Penny stock companies, the entry operators who managed the dummy companies involved in price rigging. The money trail of the transaction was also examined and in a large number of transactions trail right from cash deposit account to the beneficiaries account was unearthed. As a result of investigation, individuals who have taken such entry of bogus LTCG/Loss amounting to several crores have been identified. The AO has also explained the result of any proof of the same in his assessment order and is of the view that assessee is a one of such beneficiary who has purchased 11000 shares of M/s Luminaire Technologies Limited on 06.05.2013 (but the transaction reflected in Demat account on 08.5.2013) for Rs. 5,92350/- @ Rs. 53.85 per share and 300 shares of M/s Nikki Global Finance Limited on 8.7.2013 (but the transaction reflected in demat account on 10.7.2013) for Rs. 2,39,940/- @ Rs. 799.8 per share during the assessment year 2014-15 under consideration. These shares were subsequently sold to two entities on 21.3.2014 (but the transaction reflected in Demat account on 25.3.2014) for Rs. 2,08,779/- (Luminai Tech) @ Rs. 18.98 per share and on 19.3.2014 (but the transaction on reflected in Demat account on 21.3.2016) to a person for Rs. 44,355/- @ Rs. 14.7.85 per share and henceforth resulted in loss of Rs. 3,83,571/- and Rs. 1,95,585/- respectively on shares of Luminai Tech and Nikkigl respectively. 2.4 The AO vide order sheet dated 09.8.2016, asked the assessee to justify why the company has purchased the shares on higher rate and sold out them at lower price during the financial year 2013-14. In response to the same, the AR of the assessee furnished written submissions alongwith copy of computation statement which the AO has mentioned in the assessment order. After examining all the documentary evidences filed by the assessee, the AO was of the view that Assesee indulged in obtaining bogus loss through penny stock transaction and found that the above scrip M/s Luminaire Technologies Limited (code Luminai Tech) and M/s Nikki Global Finance Limited (code NIKKIGL) were involved in the illegal business of penny stock and providing bogus STCL. The Investigation Wing has indentified that both the scripts are used for generating bogus LTCG/STCL. The same modus operandi was also adopted in the share transaction. After considering the written submissions alongwith the documentary evidences filed by the Assessee, AO found that the explanation given by the assessee is not tenable because assessee has not proved that the loss on sale of shares shown by the assessee is not genuine one and it has suppressed its taxable income to take STCL through shares transaction made with above said companies. After analyzing all the details filed by the assessee as well as details obtained from outside agencies the assessee was found to be the beneficiary of taking bogus loss on trading of shares by way of dealing in the aforesaid shares. The assessee has earned bogus loss on sale of shares of Rs. 13,09,876/- by making pre-decided transactions in the aforesaid shares and this amount was added in the income of the assessee company. AO also added Rs. 17,02,000/- on account of notional interest earned on loan and disallowance of expenses on account of ROC fees and completed the assessment u/s. 143(3) of the Act vide order dated 29.12.2016. Against the assessment order dated 29.12.2016, assessee appealed before the Ld. CIT(A), who vide his impugned order dated 16.02.2018 has partly allowed the appeal of the assessee and upheld the addition of Rs. 13,09,876/- on account of Short Term Capital Loss earned through share transactions made with the aforesaid two companies treating has bogus loss on the sale of aforesaid shares. Aggrieved by the impugned order dated 16.02.2018, assessee is now in appeal before the Tribunal.
3. At the time of hearing, Ld. Counsel for the assessee has filed the written submissions made before the Ld. CIT(A) which he has attached in the Paper Book containing pages 1-95 and relied thereon. He stated that assessee has also filed various documentary evidences before the revenue authority which has not been properly considered and wrongly decided the issue in dispute against the assessee. Hence, he requested to set aside the issue in dispute to the file of the AO for fresh adjudication with the directions to consider each and every document filed by the assessee and given adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee.
4. Ld. DR relied upon the orders of the authorities below. He also filed the written submissions dated 03.10.2019 in which he has stated that the issue in dispute has already been adjudicated and decided in favour of the Revenue by the ITAT, Delhi Benches in the case of Udit Kalra vs. ITO decided in ITA No. 6717/Del/2017 dated 8.1.2019 and which decision has been upheld by the Honble Delhi High Court in the case of Udit Kalra vs. ITO in ITA No. 220/2019 & CM No. 10774/2019 vide order dated 08.03.2019. In support of his contention he has also cited various decisions of Honble Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) and Honble Punjab and Haryana High Court and the decisions of the ITAT, the details thereof has been mentioned in the written submission dated 03.10.2019.
5. I have heard both the parties and perused the records especially the orders of the revenue authorities including the Paper Book alongwith other documentary evidences as well as the case laws relied by both the parties. I am of the considered view that AO as well as Ld. CIT(A) has decided the issue in dispute relating to Short Term Capital Loss against the assessee without examining the documentary evidences filed by the assessee which the assessee has filed before me in the shape of Paper Book containing pages 1-95 in which he has attached the written submission dated 5.2.2018 filed before the Ld. CIT(A); statement of sale and purchase of impugned shares alongwith the copies of brokers contract notes; written submissions dated 16.1.2018 filed before CIT(A); copy of letter dated 28.11.2016 for justification of interest free loans and advances alongwith the copy of confirmation received from the parties against show cause given by the AO; copy of letter dated 3.11.2016 for justification of transactions for purchase and sale of shares against show cause given by the AO; copy of letter dated 09.8.2016 filed before AO for providing following documents i.e. copy of demat account, copy of financial ledger, holding statement of M/s Multiplex Capital Ltd. (Share Brokers), Details of Loans and Advances for the year ended 31.3.2014; copy of letter dated 25.7.2016 filed before AO alongwith assessment order for the AY 2013-14; copy of letter dated 25.5.2016 filed before AO in compliance of notice issued u/s. 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 12.5.2018; copy of balance sheet of the company for the year ended 31.3.2014; photocopy of bank statement for the FY 2013-14; photocopy of acknowledgement of IT return for the AY 2014-15 alongwith computation of total income; notice under sub-section (1) of Section 142 of the Income Tax Act dated 12.5.2016. I am of the view that the documentary evidences filed by the assessee establishing the loss in dispute needs to be re-examined at the level of the Assessing Officer, because it will goes to the root of the issues in dispute. I am not commenting upon the merits of the case and I have not appreciated the evidences filed by the assessee because it will prejudice to the mind of the AO. In the interest of justice, I am of the view that the issues in dispute require re-examination at the level of the AO. Therefore, I set aside the issues in dispute to the file of the AO to examine the same as per law, after giving adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee.
6. In the result, the Appeal of the Assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. The order pronounced on 03.01.2020. Sd/- [H.S. SIDHU] JUDICIAL MEMBER Dated: 03-01-2020 Copy forwarded to:
1. Appellant
2. Respondent
3. CIT
4. CIT(A) Asst. Registrar,
5. DR ITAT, New Delhi
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