New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- A Karnataka farmer owning four acres and four guntas of land successfully defended himself before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Bangalore against an unexplained cash credit notice. The taxpayer had deposited substantial cash proceeds from fruit and vegetable sales into his State Bank of India (SBI) account. His primary defense rested on proving that these deposits stemmed directly from agricultural operations conducted on his land and sold through the Doddaballapura APMC yard.

The farmer, identified as Ramachandrababu, triggered suspicions from the tax department due to large cash deposits and high-value property transactions that appeared inconsistent with his filed Income Tax Return (ITR). In response,...