# ITAT says bank deposits cannot automatically be taxed under Section 44AD 2026-08-15T14:41:49+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s Surat bench has ruled that bank deposits cannot automatically be treated as taxable income under Section 44AD. Tax authorities must first examine the source and nature of the money, the tribunal said. The case involved fruit trader Zakir Yakubbhai Patel, who declared taxable income of Rs 14.57 lakh under the presumptive taxation scheme. The assessing officer estimated his income at about Rs 5.09 crore after examining deposits made during demonetisation. The officer had added about Rs 2.43 crore in bank deposits, Rs 71.87 lakh in unsecured loans and Rs 1.79 crore in loans and advances. Patel said the actual deposits were Rs 89.16 lakh and that some loans belonged to earlier years. The tribunal found errors in the figures but sent the case back for fresh verification rather than cancelling the assessment. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com Tags: income tax department, ITAT, Section 44AD, Surat, Zakir Yakubbhai Patel Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/itat-says-bank-deposits-cannot-automatically-be-taxed-under-section-44ad/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/itat-says-bank-deposits-cannot-automatically-be-taxed-under-section-44ad/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.