# ITAT Delhi upholds Rs 1.86 lakh penalty for undisclosed UAE assets 2026-08-13T07:36:39+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Delhi bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has upheld a Rs 1.86 lakh penalty under the Black Money Act against taxpayer Ashok Shankar for failing to disclose a UAE bank account and shares in a Dubai company in his income tax returns. The case originated from a 2016 search related to the Sanjay Bhandari group, with UAE authorities providing bank details and corporate records in April 2019. Shankar claimed the AED 5,000 in his Emirates NBD account was a friend's deposit for a business that never started, and that he had forgotten about the account. The tribunal rejected his explanation, noting lack of evidence, and held that under the Black Money Act, the relevant assessment year is when the asset comes to the assessing officer's notice, here, 2020-21. ## Coverage - livemint.com - livemint.com Tags: Black Money Act, Income tax, ITAT, Tax Penalty, UAE, Undeclared Foreign Assets Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/itat-delhi-upholds-rs-1-86-lakh-penalty-for-hidden-uae-assets/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/itat-delhi-upholds-rs-1-86-lakh-penalty-for-hidden-uae-assets/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.