RAKESH KALIA Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an Assessee's appeal under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act ( for short `the Act') against the order dated September 16, 2005 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( for short `The Tribunal') in ITA No.901/Del/2003 pertaining to assessment year 1992-1993.

(2.) The relevant facts in brief are that the Assessing Officer upon scrutiny of the documents filed by the Assessee along with his return found that there was a credit entry of Rs. 2,55,000/- made on 1.2.1992 in the Savings Bank Account of the Assessee. The Assessee was asked to explain the nature and the source of the receipt. In response, he filed a declaration under the Remittance in Foreign Exchange (Immunities) Scheme, 1991 to claim that this amount was received by debit to an NRE Account. It was not clear from the certificate issued by the bank as to whom the account belonged. To verify the genuineness of the declaration, a reference was made to the State Bank of India, Race Course Road, Bangalore, (for short `SBI'). From the response of SBI, it transpired that the declaration was not correct since the amount did not come from any NRE account but it came from a Savings Bank Account of one Arun. L with SBI. The Assessee was called upon to produce Arun L but he failed to do so. The Assessing Officer accordingly added the amount as Assessee's income. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)( for short `CIT Appeals') upheld the addition in the appeal filed by the Assessee. It was held that the Assessee could not prove the identity of the donor Arun L. The Assessee preferred a further appeal to the Tribunal.

(3.) In second appeal to the Tribunal by the Assessee, the Tribunal while noticing the good investigation carried out by the Assessing Officer, observed that it was necessary to give full opportunity to the Assessee to rebut the evidence which had been collected behind the Assessee's back. Since the Tribunal felt that the Assesee had not been given full opportunity to furnish the details and rebut the findings given by the Assessing Officer, the order of the CIT (Appeals) was set aside and the matter restored to the file of the Assessing Officer with a direction to re-decide the issue in accordance with law after giving a full opportunity to the Assessee.