Income Tax Appellate Tribunal - Ahmedabad
Noble Cloth Stores , Bharuch vs Income Tax Officer,Ward-2,, Bharuch on 8 February, 2017
IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
AHMEDABAD "SMC/I" BENCH AHMEDABAD
BEFORE, SHRI S. S. GODARA, JUDICIAL MEMBER
AND SHRI AMARJIT SINGH, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER
ITA No.2889/Ahd/13
(Assessment Year: 1993-1994)
Noble Cloth Stores
Beside Musaji Chahwala,
Katopor Bazar, Bharuch-392001 Appellant
Vs.
The Income-tax Officer,
Ward-2, Bharuch Respondent
PAN: AABFN6020E
आवेदक क ओर से/By Assessee : None
राज व क ओर से/By Revenue : Ms. Richa Rastogi, Sr. D.R.
सन
ु वाई क तार ख/Date of Hearing : 02.02.2017
घोषणा क तार ख/Date of
Pronouncement : 08.02.2017
ORDER
PER S. S. GODARA, JUDICIAL MEMBER
This assessee's appeal for assessment year 1993-94 arises against CIT(A)-VI, Baroda's ex parte order dated 13.09.2013, passed in appeal no. CAB-VI/27/2007-08, affirming Assessing Officer's action imposing penalty of Rs.79,700/- in proceedings u/s.271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961; in short "the Act".
ITA No. 2889/Ahd/2013 (Noble Cloth Stores vs. Noble Cloth Stores)A.Y. 1993-94 -2- 2. Case called twice. None appears at assessee's behest. Case file
reveals that the assessee has never put in appearance in the instant appeal's hearings. We have thus heard the Revenue so far as merits are concerned.
3. We come to relevant facts. The assessee firm was in wholesale and retail clothing business in the impugned assessment year. It filed return declaring Rs.2700/- as income on 15.07.1994. The same was summarily processed. The department conducted a survey action thereafter at assessee's business premises on 20.10.1994. It came across assessee's bill books, books of accounts and various other documents. This made the Assessing Officer to form reasons to believe that assessee's taxable income liable to be assessed had escaped assessment. He issued Section 148 notice dated 15.11.1994 to the assessee who reiterated the income already returned. The Assessing Officer then took up re-assessment. He noticed in course thereof that the assessee had been maintaining various fadia books, embroidery books, vepari yadi books etc. The same allegedly indicated some credit entries having differential figures in fadia books (retail sales) vis-à-vis the corresponding figures in wholesale books. The assessee pleaded that its embroidery and above yadi books were not necessarily its sale books. The Assessing Officer however rejected the said contention. He framed the impugned re-assessment on 26.03.1996 making the quantum addition in question of unaccounted purchases and sales amounting to Rs.6,93,812/- as well as unaccounted sale consideration out of cancelled entries of Rs. 39,035/-; respectively. The CIT(A) deleted the above Section 69 addition in his order dated 24.07.1996 and directed the Assessing Officer to add gross profits thereupon @ 25%. Both parties preferred their respective appeals before this tribunal. A co- ordinate bench in its order dated 31.12.2002 remitted the issue back to the CIT(A) to give a complete finding on unaccounted investments in purchases and further calculate the unaccounted income to be treated as unaccounted ITA No. 2889/Ahd/2013 (Noble Cloth Stores vs. Noble Cloth Stores) A.Y. 1993-94 -3- investments along with gross profits to be assessed @ 14.88%. The CIT(A) thereafter passed consequential order on 01.02.2006 confirming unaccounted investments in purchase addition figure of Rs.68,845/- along with GP @ 14.88% on unaccounted sales of Rs.7,32,927/-; thereby determining total addition amount to the tune of Rs.1,77,905/-. The assessee does not appear to have filed any appeal against the same.
4. We now come to the impugned penalty proceedings. The assessee filed its reply before the Assessing Officer that it had not concealed its income nor filed any inaccurate particulars thereof in the course of quantum proceedings. The assessing authority however placed heavy reliance on above quantum developments to conclude that the assessee's act and conduct in question amounted to concealment of income by furnishing inaccurate particulars. He thus imposed the impugned penalty of Rs.79,700/- as confirmed in the lower appellate proceedings.
5. We have heard the Revenue. Relevant findings perused. Ms. Rastogi strongly reiterates the CIT(A)'s findings affirming Assessing Officer's action in imposing the impugned penalty. It however emerges that the impugned addition has in fact emanated from various differential figures in assessee's embroidery/fadia books vis-à-vis its regular books of accounts. The assessee failed to reconcile the said differential figures. It strongly claimed in the course of above stated re-assessment that the former books are not necessarily in the nature of sale books since containing particulars of sales measurement etc. The Assessing Officer declined the same. It is thus clear that the impugned re-assessment has based its quantum addition only on assessee's details already filed with the regular return of income. It has further come on record that the main addition of unaccounted investment /sales stands modified to the extent of GP rate @ 14.88% (supra). We ITA No. 2889/Ahd/2013 (Noble Cloth Stores vs. Noble Cloth Stores) A.Y. 1993-94 -4- observe in this peculiar backdrop that the impugned addition in neither indicates any act on assessee's part furnishing inaccurate particulars of income or that of concealment of income so as to be penalized u/s. 271(1)(c) of the Act. We accordingly accept assessee's sole substantive ground. The Assessing Officer is directed to delete the impugned penalty of Rs.79,700/-.
6. This assessee's appeal succeeds.
[Pronounced in the open Court on this the 08th day of February, 2017.] Sd/- Sd/-
(AMARJIT SINGH) (S. S. GODARA)
ACCOUNTANT MEMBER JUDICIAL MEMBER
Ahmedabad: Dated 08/02/2017
True Copy
S.K.SINHA
आदे श क त ल
प अ े
षत / Copy of Order Forwarded to:-
1. राज व / Revenue
2. आवेदक / Assessee
3. संबं धत आयकर आय!
ु त / Concerned CIT
4. आयकर आयु!त- अपील / CIT (A)
5. )वभागीय ,-त-न ध, आयकर अपील य अ धकरण, अहमदाबाद / DR, ITAT, Ahmedabad
6. गाड3 फाइल / Guard file.
By order/आदे श से, उप/सहायक पंजीकार आयकर अपील य अ धकरण, अहमदाबाद ।