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Facts
The assessee appealed against an ex-parte order of the CIT(Appeals) which confirmed additions. Both the original assessment under Section 144 and the appellate proceedings were conducted ex-parte due to the assessee's non-compliance and non-appearance, leading to the appeal being dismissed without considering merits.
Held
The Tribunal set aside the CIT(Appeals)'s order and remitted the matter back for fresh consideration, granting the assessee another opportunity to be heard. The Tribunal also cautioned the assessee to promptly cooperate with the future proceedings.
Key Issues
Whether an ex-parte order passed by the CIT(Appeals) should be set aside and the case remitted to provide the assessee a fair opportunity to present their case on merits.
Sections Cited
144
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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ‘SMC’ BENCH, KOLKATA
Before: Shri Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-(KZ)
Appearances by: Shri C.M. Roy, A.R., appeared on behalf of the assessee Shri Manas Mondal, Sr. D.R., appeared on behalf of the Revenue Date of concluding the hearing: November 10, 2025 Date of pronouncing the order: November 12, 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 24.12.2024 passed for Assessment Year 2017-2018.
At the time of hearing, ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that the ld. CIT(Appeals) has passed the order ex-parte without 1 (A.Y. 2017-2018) Md. Sarowar Hossain Purkait giving opportunities to the assessee. He also submitted that even the assessment order has been passed under section 144 of the Act due to non-compliance from the side of the assessee. He prayed for one more opportunity to substantiate his case before the ld. CIT(Appeals).
On the other hand, ld. Sr. Departmental Representative supported the orders of lower authorities.
I have heard the rival submissions 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 AO. 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.144 of the Act as the assessee remained non-compliant and failed to produce any evidence 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. (A.Y. 2017-2018) Md. Sarowar Hossain Purkait CIT(Appeals) with a direction to provide one more opportunity of being heard to the assessee. At 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 allowed for statistical purposes.
In the result, appeal of the assessee stands partly allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced in the open Court on 12/11/2025.