#Tax Law & Claims

The ITAT Agra has ruled that reassessment under Section 147 is void if the Assessing Officer relies on cash transaction data without verifying the assessee’s explanation or making any actual addition to income. This establishes that mere suspicion or unverified data cannot sustain jurisdictional belief - a critical safeguard for small traders and cash-based businesses facing arbitrary reassessments.

The ITAT Delhi has ruled that the opening balance of unsecured loans cannot be treated as unexplained credit under Section 68, even if the closing balance is challenged. Once the assessee establishes the identity, genuineness, and creditworthiness of lenders, the burden shifts entirely to the Revenue to disprove the transaction - a critical safeguard for charitable trusts and small entities relying on third-party funding.

ITAT Mumbai rules that while disallowance of commission expenditure under Section 37(1) of the IT Act is valid on merits, the same amount cannot be taxed again in a subsequent assessment year, reinforcing the bar on double taxation. This holding protects taxpayers from punitive reassessments where income was already disclosed and taxed.