In Brief
An Indian oil bitumen carrier was assessed under Section 69A of the Income-Tax Act for allegedly misappropriating bitumen during transport. The Supreme Court held the carrier cannot be treated as the 'owner' of the goods—the carrier remained a bailee even with short delivery, lacking ownership rights. Furthermore, bitumen, a residual petroleum product costing ~Rs.5 per kg and ordinarily sold in bulk for road construction, does not qualify as a 'valuable article' under Section 69A. That section targets high-value items like gold and jewellery used to hide income, interpreted strictly under the principle of ejusdem generis. The Court set aside the tax addition, holding ownership and intrinsic costliness are both essential to invoke Section 69A.
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