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Facts
The assessee's appeal to the ITAT was filed 74 days late due to his post-surgery recovery and lack of awareness of the CIT(Appeals)' ex-parte order. The CIT(Appeals) had confirmed additions made by the Assessing Officer under Section 143(3) read with Section 147 as the assessee failed to provide evidence, and dismissed the appeal due to non-appearance without discussing merits.
Held
The ITAT condoned the 74-day delay, accepting that the assessee was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. To ensure natural justice, the tribunal set aside the CIT(Appeals)' order and remitted the matter back for a fresh hearing, providing the assessee another opportunity to present their case.
Key Issues
Condonation of delay in filing appeal; validity of ex-parte order by CIT(A) passed without providing adequate opportunity for hearing.
Sections Cited
143(3), 147
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ‘SMC’ BENCH, KOLKATA
Before: Shri Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-(KZ)
Assessment Year: 2012-2013 Gopal Krishan Maharwal,…………………..…Appellant 3, Pratap Ghosh Lan, Burra Bazar, Kolkata-700007 [PAN:AESPM6895H] -Vs.- Income Tax Officer,…………………………..…..Respondent Ward-43(1), Kolkata, 3, Government Place West, Kolkata-700001 Appearances by: Shri Avijit Dey, Advocate, appeared on behalf of the assessee Smt. Sima Das Biswas, Sr. D.R., Addl. CIT, appeared on behalf of the Revenue Date of concluding the hearing: October 15, 2025 Date of pronouncing the order: November 21, 2025 O R D E R
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 03.03.2025 passed for Assessment Year 2012-2013.
(A.Y. 2012-2013) Gopal Krishan Maharwal 2. The appeal is time barred by 74 days in filing the appeal by the assessee. However, the assessee filed an affidavit before the ITAT in support of condonation of delay of 74 days mentioning that the delay occurred due to his operation and post-surgery treatment and recovery. He also stated that the delay in filing the appeal was purely unintentional and occurred due to circumstances beyond his control and there was no deliberate lapse or negligence on his part. He also stated that he was not aware of any notices of hearing and the order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) and when he came to know about the order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals), he approached the ld. A.R. to prefer an appeal, due to that there was a delay of 74 days in filing the appeal before the Tribunal. Therefore, he pleaded to condone the delay.
Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the view that the assessee was prevented in filing the appeal within the stipulated time. Therefore, I am inclined to condone the delay of 74 days. Hence the delay is condoned.
At the time of hearing, ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that the ld. CIT(Appeals) has passed the order ex-parte without (A.Y. 2012-2013) Gopal Krishan Maharwal giving opportunities to the assessee. He prayed for one more opportunity to substantiate his case before the ld. CIT(Appeals).
At the time of hearing, ld. Sr. Departmental Representative supported the orders of lower authorities.
I have heard both the sides and perused the material available on record. A perusal of the impugned order clearly shows that as there was no response to the notices to substantiate the claim with documentary evidences and submissions, ld. CIT(Appeals) confirmed the addition made by the ld. Assessing Officer. It is also evident that the ld. CIT(Appeals) has not discussed the issue on merits and dismissed the appeal due to non-appearance. I also find that the assessment order has been passed u/s. 143(3) read with section 147 of the Act as the assessee failed to produce any evidence or supporting documents in support of the claim. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, I am inclined to set aside the order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) and in order to meet the principle of natural justice, remit the matter back to the file of the ld. CIT(Appeals) with a direction to provide one more opportunity of being heard to the assessee. At (A.Y. 2012-2013) Gopal Krishan Maharwal the same breath, I also hereby caution the assessee to promptly co-operate with the proceedings before the ld. CIT(Appeals) failing which the ld. CIT(Appeals) shall be at liberty to pass appropriate order in accordance with law and merits based on the materials available on the record. Thus, the grounds raised by the assessee are partly allowed for statistical purposes.
In the result, appeal of the assessee stands partly allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced in the open Court on 21/11/2025.