IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “I”NEW DELHI BEFORE SHRIMAHAVIR SINGH, HON’BLE VICE PRESIDENT AND SHRISANJAY AWASTHI, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER आ.अ.स/ं .I.T.A No.2801/Del/2024 िनधा(cid:9)रणवष(cid:9)/Assessment Year: 2015-16 िनधा(cid:9)रणवष(cid:9)/Assessment Year: 2015-16 बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम बनाम सुनवाईक(cid:8)तारीख/ Date of hearing: 17.12.2025 उ(cid:14)ोषणाक(cid:8)तारीख/Pronouncement on 09.01.2026 आदेश /O R D E R PER SANJAY AWASTHI, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER:

1. The present appeal arises from order dated 08.03.2024, passed u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereafter as “the Act”), by Ld.CIT(A)- 28, New Delhi. In this case a search and seizure operation was carried out on one Shri Surendra Arya and JBM group of companies on 05.10.2017. During the course of search on a key employee, Shri Suresh Kumar Mishra, details of transactions made for purchase of certain land were found. Apparently, the assessee had purchased 312214 sq. mts. Of land, which was registered in the month of January and February, 2015 from the seized material, an inference was drawn that some part of the consideration (Rs. 8 crores) for the said transaction was made in cash and not disclosed for tax purposes. The impugned addition was made accordingly.

1.1 The assessee carried this matter in appeal and was successful in pleading his case on the ground that the actual purchase of land had not been made from one M/s Vedehi Synthetic Ltd., to whom the said impugned cash payment was supposed to have been made, but from three persons (Vijay Kumar Ishwar Lal Patel, Mahesh Kumar Ishwar Lal Patel and Hemendra Kumar Ishwar Lal Patel). It is also recorded in the impugned order that the payment to M/s Vedehi Synthetic Ltd. was actually made in FY 2013-14, both the cheque part of it and the alleged cash part of it. On the finding that the payment through cheque and alleged cash was made to M/s Vedehi Synthetics Ltd. during FY 2013-14 and thus the same could not be treated for the sake of any assessment of income during AY 2015-16,the relief is seen to have been given on this basis [paras 5.3.4 and 5.3.5 of the impugned order].

1.2 The Revenue being aggrieved with this finding has approached the ITAT with the following grounds of appeal: -

“1. Whether on facts and in circumstances of the ease, Ld.CIT(A) is legally justified in deleting the addition on account of unexplained cash investment of Rs.8,00,00,000/-, without appreciating the fact that incriminating material in the form of hard disk in which details of certain properties maintained in excel sheet have been found in which details of various cash payment mentioned was found during the course of search on assessee.

2. Whether on facts and in circumstances of the case, Ld.CIT(A) is legally justified in deleting the addition on account of unexplained cash investment of Rs.8,00,00,000/-, without appreciating the fact that incriminating material in the form of excel format have been found in which details of registry of land at Daslana was found during the course of search on assessee.

3. Whether on facts and in circumstances of the case, Ld.CIT(A) is legally justified in deleting the addition on account of unexplained cash investment of Rs.8,00,00,000/-, without appreciating the fact that incriminating material in the form of excel sheet contain details viz. survey no., area of meter, name of the seller, name of the purchase company of JBM group etc. As per these details FaribadadPresswell Pvt. Ltd. had purchased total 312214 sqm. Land which was registered in the month of January &

February 2015.

4. Whether on facts and in circumstances of the case, Ld.CIT(A) is justified in holding that the cash transactions are made first, since cheque payments are made at the time of any agreement/contract and also to ensure safety of the amount to be received by the seller, even when the general practice in land deals is that the cash payments are made at the time of registration of the land so as to