The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chennai, ordered the review of the assessment where the assessee in Pawn Broking business faced taxation issue.
Facts
The assessee is an individual deriving income from pawn broking business. The Assessing Officer has observed from assessment records prior to the assessment year under consideration that the assessee was having taxable income much above the specified limit of taxability of income for all the assessment years.
Further, a survey action was conducted in the financial year 2012-13. During the course of survey action, it was found that the assessee was habitually non-filer of income tax return since assessment year 2006-07 onwards.
Thus, assessment for the AY 2006- 07 to 2013-14 was reopened and completed. Since, the modus operandi for realization of assets against which money lent to the needy person was same for subsequent assessment year and the value of assets realized are more than the specified taxable limit for all these assessment years, notice under section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2015-16 on 29.01.2016 and served.
Since there was no response to any of the notices issued by the Assessing Officer, the Assessing Officer completed the best judgment assessment under section 144 of the Act dated30.11.2017 by assessing total income of the assessee at ₹.1,76,54,365/- after making various additions/ disallowances.
Decision
The division bench of V. Durga Rao, Judicial Member and Manjunatha, G., Accountant Member noted that while concluding the assessment under section 144 of the Act and in the absence of any documentary evidence available on record, the Assessing Officer brought to tax the entire credits as unexplained cash credits.
Since the assessee has filed various details before the Tribunal, the bench opined that the Assessing Officer shall examine the details as may be furnished by the assessee and decide the issue afresh in accordance with law.
The Tribunal directed the assessee to co-operate with the Department and furnish complete details before the Assessing Officer for consideration.
Case title: Shri Gouthamchand v/s The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax
Citation: I.T.A. No.580/Chny/2021
