Undisclosed foreign assets: ITAT rejects Income Tax Department appeal, upholds taxpayer’s relief under Black Money Act

The Delhi bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has dismissed the Income Tax Department’s appeal in a Black Money Act case involving Tarun Trikha, after finding no reason to interfere with the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), which had deleted the addition made against him.

The case concerned information received by the tax department about foreign assets allegedly belonging to Trikha. The tribunal’s order records that the Assessing Officer (AO) had also observed that the assessee was engaged in the business of investments, travel and airlines and was associated with Indonesian Commercial Airlines (Pacific Royale Airways) during financial year 2012-13. The case relates to assessment year 2021-22.

According to the ITAT order, the proceedings were initiated under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, based on information available with the department concerning foreign assets allegedly connected with Trikha.

The assessee disputed the department’s position. The matter went before the CIT(A), where Trikha challenged the addition made by the Assessing Officer.

The CIT(A) considered the material placed on record and accepted the assessee’s explanation. The first appellate authority consequently deleted the addition made under the Black Money Act.

The Income Tax Department challenged this relief before the ITAT Delhi, arguing that the CIT(A) had erred in deleting the addition.

The tribunal therefore had to examine whether the findings of the CIT(A) warranted interference.

The ITAT Delhi, comprising S. Rifaur Rahman, Accountant Member, and Vimal Kumar, Judicial Member, heard the department’s appeal in BMA No. 15/Del/2025.

The tribunal, after considering the material and findings recorded by the CIT(A), found no sufficient basis to disturb the first appellate authority’s decision. It consequently dismissed the Income Tax Department’s appeal.

The ruling means the relief granted to Trikha by the CIT(A) in the proceedings under the Black Money Act has been upheld by the tribunal.

The order is important in the context of foreign-asset proceedings because the dispute involved the attribution of foreign assets to the assessee. The tribunal’s decision turned on its assessment of the material available in the case and whether the CIT(A)’s conclusions required interference.

The ITAT order also records the department’s information concerning Trikha’s alleged association with Indonesian Commercial Airlines (Pacific Royale Airways) during FY 2012-13.

The Delhi ITAT passed its order on 11 August 2026 in Addl. CIT, Delhi vs Tarun Trikha , BMA No. 15/Del/2025, for assessment year 2021-22. The appeal filed by the Income Tax Department was dismissed.

Kirti Jha is a Senior Content Producer at Mint, where she writes on mutual funds, taxation, personal finance and macroeconomic developments. Her reporting focuses on helping readers understand complex financial developments through data-driven, research-backed stories that explain how policy changes, market trends and regulatory decisions affect investors and households.