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Facts
The assessee appealed against an ex-parte order by the Assessing Officer (AO) and the subsequent dismissal of their appeal by the CIT(Appeals). Both lower authorities confirmed an addition for AY 2012-2013 as the assessee failed to provide explanations or documentary evidence despite opportunities.
Held
The Tribunal, noting that the merits were not addressed, set aside the CIT(Appeals) order and remitted the case back to the AO. This was done to provide the assessee one last opportunity to present their case, ensuring principles of natural justice, with a caution for cooperation.
Key Issues
Whether the assessment and appellate orders, passed without considering the merits due to the assessee's non-compliance, should be set aside to allow for a fresh opportunity under natural justice principles.
Sections Cited
143(3), 147
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ‘D’ BENCH, KOLKATA
Before: Shri Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-(KZ) & Shri Rajesh Kumar
Per Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-President (KZ):- The present appeal is directed at the instance of assessee against the order of Id. Additional/Joint Commissioner of Income (A.Y. 2012-2013) SRG Trading Pvt. Limited Tax (Appeals)-3, Delhi dated 08.11.2024 passed for Assessment Year 2012-2013.
At the time of hearing, ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that the ld. Assessing Officer has passed the order ex-parte without giving opportunities to the assessee. He also submitted that since the assessee-company has not offered any explanation to the show-cause issued to it, it is logical to infer that the assessee-company has no explanation to offer against the said show-cause notice. Even the ld. Addl./JCIT(Appeals) dismissed the appeal of the assessee on the ground that the appellant failed to provide cogent explanation despite providing multiple opportunities. Therefore, ld. Counsel for the assessee prayed for one more opportunity to substantiate his case before the ld. Assessing Officer.
At the time of hearing, ld. Departmental Representative supported the orders of lower authorities.
(A.Y. 2012-2013) SRG Trading Pvt. Limited 4. We 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 provide any documentary evidences as asked for. We also find that the assessment order has been passed u/s. 143(3)/147 of the Act as the assessee remained non-compliant and failed to produce any evidence or supporting documents in support of the claim. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we are 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. Assessing Officer with a direction to provide one more opportunity of being heard to the assessee. 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 based on the (A.Y. 2012-2013) SRG Trading Pvt. Limited 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.