What did the Tribunal hold?

The Tribunal set aside the order of the CIT(Appeals) and remitted the matter back to the Assessing Officer. This was done to provide the assessee with an opportunity to present their evidence and ensure the principle of natural justice.

The assessee's appeal was dismissed ex-parte by the CIT(Appeals) without considering the merits of the case. The assessee contended that they could not furnish certain evidence before the Assessing Officer.

What were the issues?

Whether the CIT(Appeals) was justified in dismissing the appeal ex-parte without considering the merits. Whether the assessee should be granted an opportunity to present evidence before the Assessing Officer.

Sanjay Kumar Singh, Sambalpur vs ITO | ITAT Cuttack 2026

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, KOLKATA-CUTTAK ‘e-COURT’, DB, KOLKATA

Before: Shri Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-(KZ) & Shri Rajesh Kumar

ITA No. 285/CTK/2026 (A.Y. 2019-2020) Sanjay Kumar Singh IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, KOLKATA-CUTTAK ‘e-COURT’, DB, KOLKATA [Hybrid Court Hearing] Before Shri Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-President (KZ) & Shri Rajesh Kumar, Accountant Member I.T.A. No. 285/CTK/2026 Assessment Year: 2019-2020 Sanjay Kumar Singh,………………….……....Appellant Kadampada, P.O. & P.S.-Hirakud, Dist. Sambalpur, Sambalpur-768016, Odisha [PAN:CFWPS0724L] -Vs.- Income Tax Officer,……………………………...Respondent Ward-2(1), Sambalpur, Aayakar Bhawan, Ainthapali, Sambalpur-768004, Odisha Appearances by: Shri Himanshu Jena and Shri Narahari Swain, A.Rs., appeared on behalf of the assessee Shri Vijay Singh, Sr. D.R., appeared on behalf of the Revenue Date of concluding the hearing: May 22, 2026 Date of pronouncing the order: May 22, 2026 O R D E R Per Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-President (KZ):- The present appeal is directed at the instance of assessee against the order of Id. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi, dated 23.02.2026 passed for Assessment Year 2019-2020.

ITA No. 285/CTK/2026 (A.Y. 2019-2020) Sanjay Kumar Singh 2. At the time of hearing before the Tribunal, it was the submission of the ld. Counsel for the assessee that the ld. CIT(Appeals) dismissed the appeal of the assessee ex-parte without going into the merit of the case and simply relied on the order of the ld. Assessing Officer. Therefore, he pleaded to set aside the order passed by the revenue authorities.

On the other hand, it was the submission of the ld. Departmental Representative that the assessee failed to offer any explanation/supporting documents in respect of the grounds of appeal raised by him before the ld. Assessing Officer as well as ld. CIT(Appeals). Therefore, he pleaded to uphold the orders passed by the revenue authorities.

We have heard both the sides and perused the material available on record. The assessee did not furnish any documentary evidence in support of his claim before the ld. Assessing Officer. The ld. CIT(Appeals) just simply upholding the order of ld. Assessing Officer dismissed the appeal of the assessee without going into merit of the case and for lack of cogent and admissible material. Considering the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, we find that the assessee was not in a position to file some of the evidences before the ld. Assessing Officer. But now he requested to remit the matter back to the file of ld. Assessing Officer to decide the issue afresh and to examine these documents. Therefore, in order to ensure the principle of natural justice, we are of the view that it is a fit case to provide one more opportunity to the assessee. Therefore, we remit the matter back to the file of

ITA No. 285/CTK/2026 (A.Y. 2019-2020) Sanjay Kumar Singh ld. Assessing Officer with a direction to dispose of the appeal without any inference on the observations of earlier order passed by him. At the same breath, we also hereby caution the assessee to promptly co-operate with the proceedings before the Ld. Assessing Officer failing which the Ld. Assessing Officer shall be at liberty to pass appropriate order in accordance with law and merits of the case, based on the materials available on the record. Thus, the grounds raised by the assessee in the appeal are partly allowed for statistical purposes.

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is partly allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open Court on 22/05/2026.

Sd/- Sd/- (Rajesh Kumar) (Duvvuru RL Reddy) Accountant Member Vice-President (KZ) Kolkata, the 22nd day of May, 2026

Copies to :(1) Sanjay Kumar Singh, Kadampada, P.O. & P.S.-Hirakud, Dist. Sambalpur, Sambalpur-768016, Odisha (2) Income Tax Officer, Ward-2(1), Sambalpur, Aayakar Bhawan, Ainthapali, Sambalpur-768004, Odisha (3) CIT(A), NFAC, Delhi; (4) CIT - , Sambalpur;

ITA No. 285/CTK/2026 (A.Y. 2019-2020) Sanjay Kumar Singh (5) The Departmental Representative; (6) Guard File TRUE COPY By order

Assistant Registrar, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata Benches, Kolkata Laha

SANJAY KUMAR SINGH,SAMBALPUR vs. THE INCOME TAX OFFICER, WARD-2(1), SAMBALPUR, SAMBALPUR

What did the Tribunal hold?

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