SHUSHILA DEVI,VARANASI vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER, WARD 1(1), VARANASI

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL CIRCUIT BENCH (SMC), VARANASI BEFORE SHRI. SUDHANSHU SRIVASTAVA, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA No.29/VNS/2025 Assessment Year: 2017-18 Shushila Devi v. Income Tax Officer W/o Late Omprakash Ward 1(1) Govindpur, Rohaniya Varanasi Varanasi (U.P) TAN/PAN:FKEPS4558E (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by: Shri Awaneesh Parik, C.A. Respondent by: Shri Sudipta Paul, D.R. O R D E R This appeal has been preferred by the Assessee against the order dated 05.02.2024, passed by the National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi (NFAC) for Assessment Year 2017-18.

2.0 The brief facts of the case are that the assessee had not filed the return of income for the year under consideration. The Income Tax Department was in possession of information that the assessee had made huge cash deposits in her Bank Account. The Assessing Officer (AO) issued statutory notices to the assessee, requiring the assessee to file the return of income for the year under consideration and also to explain the source of cash deposits made by her in her Bank Account. However, there was no response from the side of the assessee. The AO, therefore, proceeded to complete the assessment on the basis of

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Best Judgment Assessment. Accordingly, the AO issued show cause notice dated 20.11.2019 to the assessee, requiring the assessee to explain the source of cash deposits and also to furnish the supporting documents pertaining to the source of cash deposits made in the Bank Account No.2830010010232 maintained with Bank of Baroda. Since the assessee failed to explain the source of cash deposits in her Bank Account, the AO treated the total credit in the Bank Account No.2830010010232 maintained with Bank of Baroda, during the year under consideration, amounting to Rs.10,03,300/-, as unexplained money of the assessee and added the same to the total income of the assessee under section 68 of the Act.

2.1 The AO further noticed from the Bank Account statement that the assessee had earned interest income of Rs.13,688/- during the year under consideration, which was also added to the total income of the assessee.

2.2 The AO completed the assessment under section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter called 'the Act’), assessing the total income of the assessee at Rs.10,06,990/-.

2.3 The AO also invoked the provisions of section 115BBE of the Act and initiated penalty proceedings under section 272A(1)(d) read with section 274 of the Act.

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2.4 Aggrieved, the Assessee preferred an appeal before the NFAC, which dismissed the appeal of the assessee by passing an order ex-parte qua the assessee and confirmed the order of the AO.

2.5 Now the assessee has approached this Tribunal challenging the order of the NFAC, by raising the following grounds of appeal:

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appeal before the Tribunal. He further submitted that the assessee had filed an application dated 17.02.2025 for condonation of delay, stating therein that although the impugned order of the Ld. First Appellate Authority was received on 05.02.2024 and the appeal was required to be filed latest by 06.04.2024, the appeal could not be filed within the stipulated period, as the assessee, being an illiterate lady, was not aware of the proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Department against her and that when the Income Tax Department pressed for payment of income tax dues, she had come to know about the same and had thereafter immediately got the appeal filed before the Tribunal. The prayer of the Ld. A.R. was that the delay caused in filing the appeal was not deliberate and that it was beyond the control of the assessee, which may please be condoned and the appeal be heard on merits.

3.1 The Ld. Sr. D.R. objected to the delay being condoned.

3.2 In view of the prayer made by the Ld. A.R., I condone the delay in filing of the appeal and admit the appeal for hearing.

4.0 The Ld. A.R. submitted before us that the NFAC has passed an order ex-parte qua the assessee, arbitrarily upholding the order passed by the AO. The Ld. A.R. further submitted that the AO had not allowed adequate opportunity of being heard to

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the assessee and had passed the impugned assessment order under section 144 of the Act, without bringing on record any material in support of the additions which were made on the basis of presumption and surmises only. The Ld. A.R., therefore, prayed that, in the interest of justice, the matter may be restored to the file of the AO for deciding the same afresh after providing reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee. He submitted that the assessee undertakes to produce all the relevant documents in support of the cash deposits made by the assessee in the Bank Account, before the AO.

5.0 The Ld. Sr. D.R. objected to the restoration of appeal to the file of the Assessing Officer and submitted that the appeal of the assessee be dismissed.

6.0 I have heard both the parties and have also perused the material on record. Looking into the facts of this case, I am of the considered view that the assessee deserves one more opportunity to present her case and, therefore, in the interest of substantial justice, I restore this file to the Office of the AO with the direction to provide one more opportunity to the assessee to present her case along with necessary evidences in support of the cash deposits made by the assessee in her Bank Account. I also caution the assessee to fully comply with the directions of the AO

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in the set-aside proceedings when called upon to do so, failing which, the AO would be at complete liberty to pass the order in accordance with law, based on the material available on record even if it is ex-parte qua the assessee.

7.0 In the result, the appeal of the assessee stands allowed for statistical purposes.

Order pronounced in the open Court on 08/09/2026.

Sd/- [SUDHANSHU SRIVASTAVA] JUDICIAL MEMBER DATED:08/09/2026 JJ: Copy forwarded to: 1. Appellant 2. Respondent 3. CIT(A) 4. CIT 5. DR By order Assistant Registrar/DDO