The Raipur Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) dismissed an appeal due to a 125-day delay without a condonation request in a matter involving an ₹81.44 lakh addition for alleged bogus purchases.
Sagar Kukreja, appellant-assessee, had filed the return of income for A.Y. 2018-19 on May 24, 2022, declaring ₹26,32,720. The Assessing Officer ( AO )received information that the appellant had purchased goods from M/s. Moksh Alloys Pvt. Ltd. in F.Y. 2017-18, a firm involved in fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims.
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It was found that the firm had issued bogus ITC on fake sale bills worth ₹69,01,873, allowing tax benefits through fake purchases. Based on this, proceedings under Section 147 were initiated, and a notice under Section 148 was issued.
The assessment was completed under Section 147 read with Section 144B, with an addition of ₹81,44,211 as unexplained expenditure under Section 69C. The assessee’s income was determined at ₹1,07,76,931.
The assessee appealed before the Commissioner of Income Tax ( Appeals )[CIT(A)] but did not respond to four notices issued during the proceedings. Due to non-compliance, the appeal was dismissed based on available records.
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The CIT(A) found that the assessee failed to provide evidence supporting claims during the assessment or appellate proceedings. The assessment was based on information that M/s. Moksh Alloys Pvt. Ltd. was involved in fraudulent ITC transactions. The AO added ₹81,44,211 under Section 69C for unexplained expenditure, considering the purchases bogus. The CIT(A) upheld this addition and dismissed the appeal.
Read More: Bogus Purchases Claim on Rs. 94.3 Crore: ITAT Upholds CIT(A) Relief Based on Supporting Evidence
The two member bench comprising Ravish Sood (Judicial Member) and Arun Khodpia (Accountant Member) noted that the assessee did not appear for the hearing or request an adjournment, so the appeal was decided under Rule 24 of the Appellate Tribunal Rules, 1963.
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The Revenue Counsel, Smt. Anubhaa Tah Goel, pointed out that the appeal was delayed by 125 days without any application for condonation. Since no such request was made, the ITAT dismissed the appeal on this ground.
In short,the appeal filed by the assessee was dismissed.
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