The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Hyderabad Bench ruled that no Addition can be made merely on the basis of Dumb documents.
The assessee has challenged the correctness of the lower authorities’ action in respect of the addition made on-money payment.
The department has failed to corroborate the impugned seized document indicating the assessee’s alleged money payment over and above the sale price itself. All it has done is to rely on their father’s name only. It is nowhere clear as to whether it is an alleged document forming part of the books of account maintained in the regular course of business either by the vendor or vendee side. All it contains therefore is rough notings and jottings only.
The crucial issue raised in this case was whether the impugned seized material or ‘Excel’ sheet (not mentioning the assessees’ names) forms a dumb document or not.
The coram of Laxmi Prasad Sahu and S.S.Godara held that holds that such loose sheets deserve to be treated like a dumb document only since not revealing full details about the dates containing lack of further particulars and therefore, ought not to be made the basis of addition.
The ITAT held that the impugned addition of on-money payment made in both these assessees’ hands on the basis of a mere dumb document and not corroborated by any other evidence is not sustainable. The tribunal directed to delete the impugned identical addition forming the subject matter of adjudication.
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