PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (CENTRAL), VISHAKAPATNAM, ANDHRA PRADESH Vs. E-CITY PROJECTS LUCKNOW (P) LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are two appeals by the Revenue. ITA No.86 of 2018 is directed against an order dtd. 28/2/2018 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack (ITAT) in IT (SS) A No.02/CTK/2018 for the Assessment Year (AY) 2012-13. ITA No.85 of 2018 by the Revenue is directed against an order dtd. 22/3/2018 passed by the ITAT in IT (SS) A No.03/CTK/2018 for the AY 2013-14. Since the appeals are directed against the orders of the ITAT allowing the appeals of the same Assessee but for different AYs and the factual backgrounds are similar, both the appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) In both appeals, the common questions sought to be urged by the Revenue are whether the ITAT was justified in deleting additions made under Sec. 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (Act) to the taxable income of the Assessee by not treating the corresponding unsecured loan as bogus and sham transactions. In both appeals the contention is that the creditor M/s. Uniworth Agency Pvt. Ltd. (UAPL) was merely a paper company established for the purposes of bogus accommodation entries and that the Assessing Officer (AO) could not examine the Directors of UAPL due to failure of the UAPL as well as the Assessee.

(3.) This Court has heard the submissions of Mr. R.S. Chimanka, learned Senior Standing Counsel for the Appellant (Revenue) and Mr. R.V. Easwar, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Assessee (Respondent).