- (1.) The Revenue has approached this court by filing the present appeal under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act") laying challenge to the order dated July 6, 2005, passed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Amritsar Bench, Amritsar (for brevity, "the Tribunal") in I.T.A. No. 509(ASR)/2004 in respect of the assessment year 1989-90. In our considered view, the following question of law would emerge from the order of the Tribunal for determination by this court: "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in law in deleting the addition of Rs. 3,16,570 allegedly received by the assessee as foreign gift?"
(2.) The facts leading to the filing of instant appeal are being noticed. For the assessment year 1989-90, the respondent-assessee filed the return on November 15, 1989, showing his income to be Rs. 21,330. However, the Assessing Officer called upon the assessee to render explanation in respect of 12,000 pounds shown by the assessee as foreign gift and about the investment of Rs. 20,000 made by him in M/s. Mohan Lal and Co. During the course of assessment proceedings, the assessee replied to the questionnaire and furnished explanation that he had received the said amount equivalent to Rs. 3,16,570 from Y.P. Wadhera who is residing in the U.K. The Assessing Officer doubted the explanation put forth by the assessee. The Assessing Officer took notice of the fact that the donor and the donee had no relationship with each other. The Assessing Officer, vide order dated November 7, 1990, directed that the said amount be added to be income of the assessee on account of his income from undisclosed sources, as it was bogus gift re-routed as a foreign remittance. The Assessing Officer also gave directions for initiating penalty proceedings as prescribed under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act. It is relevant to mention here that earlier the matter was taken to the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), Jalandhar (to be referred as, "the CIT(A)") by the assessee, which, vide order dated February 19, 1991, deleted the addition of Rs. 3,16,570 but confirmed the addition of Rs. 20,000. Thereafter, the Revenue as well as the assessee went in appeal before the Tribunal where the appeal of the Revenue was allowed and that of the assessee was dismissed, vide order dated February 20, 1998, and the amount of Rs. 3,16,570 and Rs. 20,000 was ordered to be added to the income of the assessee. However, on an application filed by the assessee before the Tribunal, the order dated February 20, 1998, was recalled and the matter was remanded back to the Assessing Officer for decision afresh in the light of some documents which the assessee produced before the appellate authorities. Consequently, the matter was re-heard. The Assessing Officer, vide order dated February 8, 2002, again ordered the addition of the aforesaid amounts, besides some other additions, in the income of the assessee. The appeal preferred by the assessee before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) also came to be dismissed, vide order dated June 2, 2004. However, on an appeal preferred by the assessee before the Tribunal, the addition of Rs. 3,16,570 was ordered to be deleted, vide order dated July 6, 2005, but the addition of an amount of Rs. 20,000 was maintained.
(3.) Dissatisfied with the same, the Revenue has filed the instant appeal.;