A RAJENDRAN Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TAX Case Nos. 74 to 76/2002 stand admitted on the following questions of law:

(2.) THE appellant in each of these appeals is an assessee within the jurisdiction of the respondent. The appellant in T. C. No. 75/2002 and the appellant in T. C. No. 80/2002 is one and the same. He is the father of the appellant in T. C. No. 76/2002 and T. C. No. 82/2002 and husband of the appellant in T. C. Nos. 79/2002 and 81/2002. The above referred to appellant in T. C. Nos. 75 and 80/2002 is the brother of the appellant in T. C. No. 74/2002. The appellant in T. C. No. 74/2002 is the husband of the appellant in T. C. No. 78/2002. The assessment orders in the respective tax cases are as hereunder: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_701_TLMAD0_2006Html1.htm</FRM> In respect of those "assessment orders", there is a credit entry in favour of the respective assessee as hereunder: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_701_TLMAD0_2006Html2.htm</FRM>

(3.) THE assessing officer did not accept the explanation offered by the respective assessee that the amount credited to their respective account is a gift from NRI and proceeded to add it as the income of the assessee from an undisclosed source. There were assessment orders for each of the assessee for the assessment years referred to earlier. The assessment order in each case is dated 27. 03. 1998, 31. 03. 1999, 27. 03. 1998, 27. 03. 1998, 31. 03. 1999, 27. 03. 1998, 27. 03. 1998 and 31. 03. 1999 respectively. Each of the assessee filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (A), Coimbatore, who, by separate order dated 31. 03. 2000 passed in each case, dismissed the appeal thereby affirming the order of the assessing officer. Thereafter, each assessee filed a separate appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chennai. All the appeals were disposed of by a common order dated 03. 08. 2001. The Accountant Member affirmed the order of the lower authorities, while the Judicial Member did not agree and therefore, wrote a dissenting judgment. Therefore, the points in controversy were referred by the President of the Appellate Tribunal to the Senior Vice President of the Appellate Tribunal, who, by order dated 20. 02. 2002, agreed with the finding of the Accountant Member. As a result thereof, the impugned order dated 18. 04. 2002 came to be passed affirming the order of the lower authorities. The effect of the above proceedings is, the explanation offered by each assessee that the credit entry in their respective account represents only a gift from NRI stands negatived and as a consequence thereof, the respective credit entry is treated as the income of the respective assessee from an undisclosed source. Heard Mr. Aravind P Datar learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant in all these appeals and Mr. N. Muralikumaran learned counsel appearing for the Revenue in all these appeals.