Income Tax Appellate Tribunal - Chandigarh
Windlas Jewellers, Ambala, Haryana vs Income Tax Officer, Ward-2, Ambala, ... on 1 April, 2024
आयकर अपील य अ धकरण,च डीगढ़ यायपीठ,च डीगढ़
IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
DIVISION BENCH, "B" CHANDIGARH
BEFORE SHRI SANJAY GARG, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND
SHRI VIKRAM SINGH YADAV, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER
आयकर अपील सं./ ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023
नधा रण वष / Assessment Year : 2017-18
WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana बनाम ITO, Ward-2,
WindlasJewellers Co. Rajiv Goel And Ambala Cantt.
Associates, 179, Bank Road,
Ambala Cantt-133001.
थायी लेखा सं./PAN NO: AAAFW2321A
अपीलाथ /Appellant यथ /Respondent
S.A. No. 01/CHD/2024 in
आयकर अपील सं./ ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023
नधा रण वष / Assessment Year : 2017-18
ITO, Ward-2, बनाम WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana
Ambala Cantt. WindlasJewellers Co. Rajiv Goel And
Associates, 179, Bank Road,
Ambala Cantt-133001.
थायी लेखा सं./PAN NO: AAAFW2321A
अपीलाथ /Appellant यथ /Respondent
नधा रती क! ओर से/Assessee by : Shri Dhruv Goel, CA
राज व क! ओर से/ Revenue by : Shri Dharam Vir, JCIT, Sr. DR
सन
ु वाई क! तार&ख/Date of Hearing : 13.02.2024
उदघोषणा क! तार&ख/Date of Pronouncement : 01.04.2024
आदे श/ORDER
Per Sanjay Garg, Judicial Member:
The p res ent a ppea l ha s b ee n p refe rr ed by the a sses see a g ai nst the o rd er d ated 22. 12. 20 2 3 of the Na tio nal Fac eless App eal C entr e [hereinafter referred to as the ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 2 of 14 'CIT(A)'] p asse d u/ s 250 o f t he I nco me Tax Act ( herei na fter r efer red to a s the 'Act ') .
2. The a ss ess ee i n thi s a pp eal ha s a g ita te d a g ainst t he a ctio n of the CI T( A) in confir ming the ad diti o n of Rs.1 ,0 7,1 6,1 22/ - out of a ddi tio n ma de of Rs.1 ,4 6,0 7,5 26/ - by the Asse ss i ng Offi cer tr ea ti ng the sa id a mo unt to be a s unex p la ined inco m e o f the asses se e u/s 6 8 o f the Act.
3. The bri ef fa cts o f the cas e ar e that t he a s ses s ee is a p ar tner ship fi rm whi ch i s eng a g ed i n the busi ness of tr ad ing in si lver, go l d a nd di amo nd je well ery. The as ses see e- f iled i ts r eturn of i nco me o n 27. 09. 20 17 de cl ar ing an i nco me o f Rs.5 ,56 ,4 74/ - . However , the case w as s elected f or scr utiny for the r ea son s, " cas h dep o si t dur ing d emo netiz ati on per io d". Duri ng the a ssessme nt p ro ceed ing s, the Asse ssi ng Officer noted t hat dur ing the d emo netiz ati on per io d fr om eve ni ng of 08.11 .20 16 to 3 1.1 2. 201 6, the a sses se e ha d dep o sited hug e ca s h. a mo unti ng to Rs. 19 430 00 0 /- in its ba nk a cco unt with P unja b Na tio na l Ba nk . The sa i d a mo unt w as dep osi ted in d emo netiz ed o ld curr ency no tes. The a ss es se e wa s a sked to ver ify the na ture a nd so urce o f such ca sh d epo sits a nd p ro vi de com plete de ta il s reg a rd ing the sa me. I n r espo nse, the a s ses see s ub mi tted t hat t he so ur ce o f t he af or esa id ca sh depo si ts w a s f ro m its ca sh sal es. The as sess ee fil ed i ts ca sh acco unt an d d e tai ls o f cash sa les befo r e the ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 3 of 14 Ass es sing Of ficer . The Ass essi ng O ffi cer a fter anal y zing the do c uments fur nished by the a ss ess ee o bser ved as und er:
( i) The ca sh s a les i n the mo nth o f Octo ber 20 16 were d isp ro po r tio nal ly hi g her to a ny o ther m ont hs ' ca sh sa les i n the y ear 20 15 -1 6.
( ii ) Depo sit in ba nk ac count dur ing m o nth o f No vember 2 01 6 w as disp ro po r tio nally higher to ca sh dep o sit in any o ther mo nth duri ng Fina nci al Year s (i n s hor t F.Ys .) 20 15 - 1 6 & 20 16- 1 7.
( ii i) Cash i n ha nd d ur ing mo nth of No vemb er 2 016 w as d isp ro po r tio nal ly hig her to ca sh i n hand in any o ther m onth dur ing F.Ys. 20 15 -1 6 & 20 16- 1 7.
3 .1 The a sse sse e ho weve r, submi t ted t ha t t he a sses see had s uffi cient sto ck i n resp ec t of imp ug ned sa les. Tha t al l the p ur chas es b y the a ssess ee w ere m ad e throug h b anking channel . That the bo o ks o f a cc o unt o f the a ss esse e w ere d uly aud ited. T hat V AT ret ur ns r ela ting to the sal es w ere a lso fil ed whi ch wer e a cc ep te d by the co ncer ned a utho ri ties. I t wa s fur ther ex pl ai ned tha t the hi g her sa les d uri ng the mo nth o f No vemb er wer e due to f e stiva ls a nd w edd ing sea so ns. I t wa s f urther ex pl ai ned that sal es ha d see n upw ar d tr end d uri ng F. Y 2 016 - 17 as c o mp ar ed to l ast ye ar due t o hi g h dem and fo r desi g ner j ewel ler y in w hich the a ss e ssee speci al izes . That ther e wa s i ncrea sed ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 4 of 14 sa le s dur ing Diw ali seas ons i. e. i n the mo nth of Octo ber , No vembe r 20 1 6. I t w as fur ther submi tted tha t ther e were 1 2- 13 wedd ing a uspic io us d a ys in Octo ber , No vemb er 2 01 6 peri o d due to whi ch the re wa s steep r ise i n sales d uri ng that p eri od . However , the As ses si ng Officer d id not a g ree wi th the a bo ve s ub m issi ons of the a sses see. H ow ever, g ivi ng b enefi t to the as se sse e of estima ted g enui ne cash sa les, ca sh in hand on t he da te of d emo netiz ati on peri o d etc. to ta lli ng to Rs. 48, 22,474/- a nd d educti ng the sa me fr om the tota l cash dep osi ts of Rs.1 ,9 4,3 0,0 00/ - , m ad e the a dd iti on of Rs.1 ,46 ,07 ,52 6/ -.
4. I n fi rst a pp eal , the ld . CI T( A) ho w ever esti ma ted the g enui ne sa les at Rs.9 0,1 4, 351 /- . He also ma de so me r ectif ica tio n i n the ca lcul ati on ma de by the Ass essing O ffi cer a nd trea ted the a mo unt of Rs.8 7,1 3,8 78 /- as ex p la ined a nd r estr icted the a d d itio n to Rs. 1,09,1 6, 122 /-. Being ag g ri eved by the sa id o r der of the CI T(A) , the a sses see ha s com e in ap pea l befo r e us.
5. At t he o ut set, the l d. Co unsel fo r the a sses s ee has r eiter a ted the s ubmi ssio ns as w ere m ad e bef or e the Ass es sing Offi cer a nd CI T( A) and furthe r s ubmi tted that the a ss ess ee b efo re the As ses si ng O ffi cer ha d f urni shed the fo ll owing docume nts:
i. Aud ited ba la nce sheet an d a udi t rep o rt.
i i. Ba nk A/ c s ta te ments fo r A. Y 2 017 - 18
iii. Q uanti ty wi se tra di ng A/ c fo r A.Y 20 17- 1 8
ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023
Assessment Year : 2017-18
WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana
Page 5 of 14
iv. VAT re tur ns f or A. Y 2 017 - 18
v. VAT a sse ssme nt o r der fo r F.Y 20 16- 1 7
vi. Bil ls no. wise d etai ls o f ca sh sa les
vi i. M o nth wi se sa les fo r the A.Y 20 16- 17 a nd 201 7 - 18 vii i. M o nth wi se ca sh r eceip ts A.Y 2 0 16- 1 7 a nd 201 7- 18 ix . P ar ty wi se p urcha ses s um ma ry 5 .1 The l d. Co unse l has further sub mitted tha t it w as undisp ut ed tha t the a sse sse e had p urcha s e s/ stock s o f w hich sal es we r e mad e a nd tha t the p ur cha s es were not d o ubted by t he As ses si ng O ffi cer. That the b oo ks of a cco unt of the a sses see w ere no t r ejected . He has fur ther sub mi tted t ha t the As ses sing O ffi cer ha s co mp ar ed the sa le s o f the Diw ali seaso n fo r the y ear 2 016 wi th tha t o f the sal es dur ing the y ea r 2 015 a nd no ted tha t the sa les d uri ng the y ea r 2 016 wer e co mpa r ati vely hi g h. He d oubted tha t the a ll eg ed sa l es wer e mad e d uri ng d emo netiza tio n p eri o d a gai nst ba nne d cur r ency notes. Tha t, ho weve r, p urcha ses wer e no t do ubted. Tha t only the per io d o f sa les w as do ub ted w hich wa s pur ely a suspi cio n of the Ass es sing Of ficer a nd ther e w a s no evid e nce av ai la ble to the Asse ssing O ffi cer that the sal es wer e ma de ag a inst d emo netiz ed c ur rency no tes a s a lleg ed .
6. The ld . DR, o n the o ther ha nd, ha s s ubmi tt ed t hat the sa les d ur ing the m on th o f No vem ber 20 1 6 s ud de nly i ncr eased a nd that it wa s a p pa r ent t ha t t he sal es w ere m ad e b y the a sses see duri ng d emo netiz ati on per io d. He ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 6 of 14 has fur ther s ubm itted tha t merel y beca use t he b oo ks o f a cco unt wer e no t rej ected, that i tself , wa s no t a cri teri a to a ccep t the e nti re sal es o f t he a sses see, whic h wa s ma de d uri ng dem one ti za tio n per io d . The ld. CI T(A) went on f urther to ev en do ubt t he p ur chase s mad e. S o fa r a s the a r gum ent of the a sse sse e t hat t her e w ere a uspi ci o us d ay s d uri ng the mo nth of O ctob er, Novem ber 2 01 6 a nd f ur ther i t wa s Diw al i festi val s tha t i s why the sa les i nc rea sed w as co ncer ned, t he l d. DR in this r esp e ct ha s sub m itted that the Asse ssing Off icer i n thi s r espect ha s rig htly obser ved tha t the j ewel ler y for mar ri a ge o cca sio n etc. a r e gener a lly p urcha sed o ne o r two mo nths in a dv anc e and no t o n t he d ay of ma rria g e. Tha t ther e wa s a steep ri se i n t he sa les in the mo nth o f No vember 201 6 as co mpa red to sal es i n the M o nth of No vemb er 2 015 . Tha t the sal es ma de by the a sses see d uri ng Octo ber a nd No vemb er 2 01 6 wer e to tally o ut o f nor ma l pa ttern o f b usi ness a nd eve n t he bi ll s w ere not iss ue d ove r the am ount o f Rs.2 l ak h so a s to a voi d ver if ica tio n. Tha t the a ss ess e e ha s f ai led to fur nish co ncr ete evi dence to j ustif y the g enui neness o f i ts cl ai m.
H e has subm itt ed tha t the fa ct s and cir cumst a nces o f the ca se sho w tha t the a ss ess ee ha s manipul ated the bo o ks o f a cco unt a nd ha d ma de effo r ts to show i ng enuine sa les as g enui ne sa les .
7. W e ha v e co nsi der ed t he ri val co nte nti ons a nd go ne thr o ug h t he r ec or d. The entir e case of the r e venue is on the ba sis o f assum p tio n that the a ss ess ee d uri ng the ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 7 of 14 d emo netiz ati on per io d had ma de sal es ac cepting d emo netiz ed cur rency whi ch wa s d epo sited in the ba nk a cco unt o f t he a sses see. Ho weve r , the ca se o f the ass ess ee i s that the as se ssee ha s m ad e g enui ne s al es a nd tha t t he sa le s w ere d ul y reco r ded i n the bo o ks o f a ccount a nd b o ok s o f a cco unt w ere dul y a udi ted and that t he d epo sits i n the ba nk a c co unt w ere ma de o ut of ca sh sa les. The a sses see ha s d uly fur nishe d the r eleva nt do cume nts i nclud ing sto c k reg is te r, cash bo ok , ba nk ac count sta teme nts, q ua nti ty- wise tr ad ing a cco unt s, VAT ret ur ns, m onth-w ise s al es a nd ca sh r eceip ts a nd p ar ty -wise p urcha ses s um ma ry etc. The bo o ks of a ccount o f the a sses see in t his case hav e no t be en r ejecte d. The ca se o f the rev enue is ba sed mer ely o n suspi cio n. Ther e is no evi dence b ro ug ht o n rec or d tha t the ca sh sal es ma de by the a sse sse e w ere no t gen uine. Th e b urd en i s up o n t he Ass es sing Off icer in thi s resp ect who al leg es sa les to b e i ng enuine. The a dd itio ns ca nno t be co nfi rmed in t hi s ca se m erel y on the b a si s of suspi cio n w he n the a ss e ssee p ro ved his ca se a nd ha s f urni s hed suffi cient do c uments. The i ssue i s sq uar ely co ver ed b y var io us d ecisi o ns o f the Co or di na te Benche s o f the Tri buna l. The ld . Co uns el fo r the a s ses see in this resp ect ha s rel ied up on t he foll owing ca se l aw s:
i) ACI T vs. Go el Jewell ers Ov ersea s Co rp in I TA No .15 97 /Del /2 022 (I TAT Delhi) ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 8 of 14 i i) D CI T Centr al Cir cle -1 , Lud hia na vs. M / s Ro o p Fashi on r epo r ted i n [ 202 2] 98 I TR ( Tr ib ) 4 19 [I TAT Cha nd) ] i ii ) Gulshan Kuma r vs. DCI T in I TA No. 488 /Chd/ 20 22 (I TAT Chandig a rh) i v) Smt. Tri pta Ra ni vs. ACI T, Lud hia na in I TA No .13 5/ Chd /2 0 21 (I TAT Cha nd i g ar h)
v) Ma da n La l Agg a rwal HUF vs. DCI Ti n I TA No .28 /CHANDI /202 3 ( I TAT Chandig a rh) d ated 18 .12 .23 7 .1 We f ind tha t the iss ue inv o l ved in thi s c a se is sq ua rel y co ver ed by the d e cisi o n of the Coo r di nate Cha ndi g ar h Bench o f the Tri buna l i n the ca s e o f 'M ad an L a l Ag g ar wal HUF vs. DCI T' (supra ), the re leva nt part o f the o rde r i s r epr od uced a s und er:
"11. It was further submitted that a complete set of books of accounts were maintained and audited by a Chartered Accountant and these books are not rejected by AO but at the same time, part of the sales were held to be bogus and cash received against such sales added as Income u/s 68 ignoring that sales has already been declared as income by assessee. It was submitted that post deposit of cash, a survey was conducted to verify the deposit on 21-3-2017 and following undisputed facts are as per records:
a. no evidence of any back dating of Sales were found.
b. No difference in stock was found.
c. There was sufficient stock available with assessee to make the sales.
d. Assessee was regular in filing VAT returns and the same were never revised.ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023
Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 9 of 14 e. If cash sales of Rs. 18,41,619/- is bogus then such stock must have been found in excess on the date of survey at the business premises.
f. Further, VAT @ 12% is paid to Government on such sales. The regulatory authority i.e Sales Tax department had accepted the recorded sales for the year and copy of Assessment order is lying at page 83.
11.1 It was submitted that the basic principle is the same in the law relating to income-tax as well as in civil law, namely, that if there is no challenge to the transaction represented by the entries or to the genuineness of the entries, then it is not open to the other side -in this case the revenue to contend that that which is shown by the entries is not the real 'state of affairs.
11.2 Our attention was invited to decision of the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court in ITA No. 194 of 1999 dated February 21, 2014 in case of M/s S.V. Auto Industries, Phagwara v. Commissioner of Income Tax, Jalandhar and another wherein it was held that "Concededly, books of accounts including stock register maintained by the assessee in the course of manufacturing process and business operations, have neither been doubted in their correctness nor have been questioned much less rejected under Section 145 of the Act. Once the books of accounts have not been doubted in their correctness and much less are rejected, there is absolutely no explanation coming forth from the revenue as to why the Assessing Officer as also the appellate authorities including the Tribunal went on to substitute their own judgment for the actual figures of wastage emerging from stock register and from the books of accounts of the assessee? When the books of accounts including stock register etc. have neither been rejected nor are doubted, accounts could not be bye passed merely on the whims and fancies of the authorities."
11.3 Further, reference was drawn to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme court in case of Mehta Parikh and Company vs. CIT (1956) 30 ITR 181 (SC) wherein it was held as under:
"It has to be noted, however, that beyond these calculations of figures, no further scrutiny was made by the Income-tax Officer or the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of the entries in the cash book of the appellants. The cash book of the appellants was accepted and the entries therein were not challenged. The ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 10 of 14 Tribunal also fell into the same error. It could not negative the possibility of the appellant being in possession of a substantial number of these high denomination currency notes. It, however, considered that it was impossible for the appellants to have had 61 such notes in the cash balance in their hands on 12th January, 1946, and then it applied a rule of the thumb treating
31 out of such 61 notes as within the bounds of possibility, excluding 30 such notes as not covered by the explanation of the appellants. This was pure surmise and had no basis in the evidence, which was on the record of the proceedings.
To put the matter in a nut-shell, the accounts of the appellant have been accepted by the Tribunal as genuine, and it is impossible to say, having regard to the cash balance as shown therein, that the notes in question could not have been included therein. The Tribunal observes that it is unlikely that so many high denomination notes would have been held as part of the cash on hand for a such a large number of days. That, no doubt, is highly suspicious ; but the decision of the Tribunal must rest not on suspicion but on legal testimony.
11.4 Our attention was further invited to the following decision of Coordinate Bench Chandigarh & a few others where under similar circumstances cash deposited during demonetization out of cash sales without rejection of books of accounts was held not justified:
a. [2022] 98 ITR (Trib) 419 (ITAT [Chand]) THE DCIT CENTRAL CIRCLE-1, LUDHIANA VERSUS M/S ROOP FASHION AND (VICE-VERSA) b. 2023 (3) TMI 755 - ITAT CHANDIGARH, SH. GULSHAN KUMAR VERSUS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL CIRCLE-2,LUDHIANA ITA No. 488/Chd/2022, Dated:
- 31-10-2022 c. ITAT CHANDIGARH [2022] 97 ITR (Trib) 389 (ITAT [Chand]) SMT. TRIPTA RANI VERSUS THE ASSISTANT. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX LUDHIANA.ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023
Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 11 of 14 d. 2023 (4) TMI 529 - ITAT AMRITSAR RAJ KUMAR (M/S RADHIKA SALES CORP) DHAB WASTI RAM, AMRITSAR VERSUS ITO, WARD 3 (3) ,AMRITSAR. I.T.A. No.195/Asr/2022, Dated: - 11-4-2023 e. 2023 (3) TMI 1196 - ITAT DELHI M/S. FINE GUJARANWALA JEWELLERS VERSUS INCOME TAX OFFICER, DELHI, I.T.A. No. 1540/DEL/2022 Dated: - 27-3-2023 f. 2022 ITAT Lucknow Subodh Chandra Seth ITA 352/Lkw/2020 dated 22/8/22 g. 2022 ITAT Lucknow SITA RAM RASTOGI ITA 23\LKW\2022 dated 8/9/2022
12. The Ld. DR has relied on the order of the AO as well as that of the Ld. CIT(A). We have already taken note of the findings of the AO, hence the same are not reproduced for the sake of brevity. As far as the findings of the Ld. CIT(A) is concerned, the same are contained at para 5 of the impugned order and the same reads as under:
"5. The appellant submitted during the appellate proceedings that it is part of CM jewellers group and therefore it is covered by the declaration of Rs.3,00,00,000/- made by the group under PMGKY. Further, it was submitted that the cash of Rs.21,00,000/- was deposited out of day to day cash sales. The appellant submitted that there was no justification to make addition u/s 68 of the Act on account of cash sales recorded in books of accounts. The Ld. AR also questioned retrospective applicability of section 115BBE of the Act. After taking into consideration the above facts , the opportunities vide letter dated 24.08.2021 and 17.09.2021 were granted to the appellant to produce complete sale bill books and complete books of accounts for the year under consideration in order to verify the grounds of appeal and to verify the above contention. In response , the appellant submitted only copy of sales account, however, failed to produce the complete sale bill books for the period under consideration. Upon perusal of the submission of the appellant, it is noted that the cash sales shown by the appellant during the months of October and November, 2016 are ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 12 of 14 considerably higher than the respective months of F.Y. 2015-16 and F.Y. 2014-15 .The onus to substantiate the cash sales was on the appellant which it has failed to discharge both during the assessment and appellate proceedings. The appellant has failed to furnish documentary evidence sought during the appellate proceedings thereby failing to establish genuineness of the cash sales and therefore, has failed to explain source and nature of such cash deposits in the bank account/ books of accounts. In view of the fact that the cash sales made by the appellant could not be verified and the genuineness of the same could not be established during the assessment as well as appellate proceedings, the addition made by the AO is justified and the same is hereby sustained. After going through the facts of the case it has been observed that unexplained cash sales is deemed income u/s 68 of the Act as the appellant could not establish the genuineness of the same and the income assessed u/s 68 is liable to be taxed as per the provisions of section 115BBE of the Act. Therefore, this case falls squarely under the ambit of section 115BBE of the Act as applicable w.e.f. from 01.04.2017 i.e. for the year under consideration. Thus, it is not a case of retrospective application of section 115BBE of the Act. In this case, the AO has not considered the amount of Rs.17,00,000/- as genuine sales and therefore, reduced the total sales by the same amount, therefore, no double addition on this account has been made. Thus, it is found that the case laws relied upon by the appellant have no bearing on the instant case. Regarding the submission of the appellant that it's case is covered by declaration of Rs.3,00,00,000/- made by M/s CM Jewellers group under PMGKY, it is held that the declaration was made in the case of M/s CM Jewellers and not the appellant. Therefore, no credit out of the same can be allowed to the appellant."
13. We have heard the rival contentions and purused the material available on record. The assessee has deposited a sum of Rs 20 lacs on 10/11/2016, Rs 50,000/- on 6/12/2016 and Rs 50,000/- on 20/12/2016 in its bank account maintained with SBI, Ambala City. The source of such cash deposits has been explained by the assessee as out of its cash sales so undertaken from time to time and it has also ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 13 of 14 been explained that such cash sales are subject to VAT where VAT has been collected and deposited with the government treasury. In support of its explanation, the assessee has furnished the cash book containing the entries towards the cash sales, cash deposits with bank, complete sale and purchase ledgers, sundry creditors, VAT returns, copy of trading and profit/loss account and balance sheet which are duly audited. No defect has been pointed out by the AO in terms of availability of stock or in any of the documentation so submitted by the assessee or in the books of accounts. Therefore, merely the fact that certain cash deposits have been made by the assessee during the period of demonization and such deposits are on a higher side considering the past year figures cannot be basis to hold the explanation so made by the assessee as unsustainable and treat the cash sales as bogus and bringing the cash deposits to tax u/s 68 of the Act. The comparative figures for past years can no doubt provides a starting point for further examination and verification but basis such comparative analysis alone and without any further examination which points out any defect or manipulation in the documentation so submitted or in terms of availability of requisite stock in the books of accounts, the sales so undertaken by the assessee which is duly recorded in the books of accounts cannot be rejected and treated as bogus. In view of the same, we find the explanation of the assessee as genuine and reasonable duly supported by the documentation and books of accounts and the addition so made by the AO and confirmed by the ld. CIT(A) is directed to be deleted."
8. I n view of the a bo ve o bser vati ons , we do no t find any j ustif ica tio n o n the p ar t o f the lo wer author iti es in ma king the im pug ned ad di tio ns a nd the sa me ar e a cco rd ing ly o r der ed to b e del eted.
9. I n the r es ult, the ap pea l of the a ss ess ee sta nd s a llo wed.
1 0. Since th e a ppe a l of the assess ee stand s d ispo sed o f, the refo r e, the Sta y App lic atio n No .01 /CHD/ 20 24 f il ed by ITA No.821/CHANDI/2023 Assessment Year : 2017-18 WindlasJewellers, Ambala, Haryana Page 14 of 14 the as s es see beco mes inf ruct uo us a nd nee ds no a dj udi cati on. Ac cor di ng ly, the sa me sta nds di sp o sed o ff .
O r de r p ro n o un ced i n the O pe n C our t o n 0 1 A pr i l, 20 2 4.
S d /- S d /-
( VIKRAM SINGH YADAV) ( SANJAY GARG)
लेखा सद य/ Accountant Member या यक सद य/ Judicial Member
Dated: ....04.2024.
RS
आदे श क! त,ल-प अ.े-षत/ Copy of the order forwarded to :
1. अपीलाथ / The Appellant
2. यथ / The Respondent
3. आयकर आयु/त/ CIT
4. -वभागीय त न2ध, आयकर अपील&य आ2धकरण, च4डीगढ़/ DR, ITAT, CHANDIGARH
5. गाड फाईल/ Guard File आदे शानुसार/ By order, सहायकपंजीकार/ Assistant Registrar