COMMON JUDGMENT

(Judgment of the Court was delivered by R.MAHADEVAN, J.)

These tax case appeals have been filed by the appellant / Revenue, challenging the order dated 08.09.2011 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bench 'A', Chennai, in I.TA.Nos.1149 & 1150/Mds/2011, relating to the assessment years 2005-06 and 2008-09.

2.By order dated 21.04.2014, this court admitted the present appeals on the following substantial question of law:

“Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal is right in holding that the burden of proving excess stock is on the revenue when the assessee himself has admitted the availability of excess stock and thereby deleting the addition of investment in unexplained stock."

3.The brief facts of the case are that the assessee is a dealer in sanitary wares. For the sake of higher loan limit, they were in the habit of furnishing inflated stock. On 09.01.2001, a search under section 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was conducted in the business premises of the assessee and physical inventory of stock was taken. During the course of which, no unaccounted excess stock was found. However, the assessing officer added the difference betwe