Loading judgment…
Facts
The assessee filed an appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) against an assessment order. However, the assessee failed to comply with the notices issued by the Ld. CIT(A), leading to the dismissal of the appeal for non-prosecution. The assessee's counsel cited internal communication gaps and personal health issues for the non-compliance.
Held
The Tribunal held that dismissing an appeal ex-parte without considering the merits would result in a denial of justice. Therefore, in the interest of justice, the impugned order was set aside, and the matter was remitted back to the Ld. CIT(A) for de novo adjudication, granting the assessee an opportunity to present their case on merits.
Key Issues
Whether the appeal dismissed for non-prosecution due to the assessee's counsel's ill health and communication gaps should be restored for adjudication on merits.
Sections Cited
144B, 131(1)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad ‘B’ Bench, Hyderabad
Before: SHRI VIJAY PAL RAO & SHRI MADHUSUDAN SAWDIA
(निर्धारण वर्ा/Assessment Year:2013-14) Smt. Vijayalakshmi Puvvada, Income Tax Officer, Vs. Ward-1, Khammam. Khammam. PAN: BIKPP7037B (Appellant) (Respondent) निर्धाररती द्वधरध/Assessee by: Shri Ramesh Babu Kilaru, C.A. रधजस् व द्वधरध/Revenue by: Dr. Sachin Kumar, SR-DR सुिवधई की तधरीख/Date of hearing: 21/08/2025 घोर्णध की तधरीख/Pronouncement: 26/08/2025 आदेश/ORDER PER MADHUSUDAN SAWDIA, A.M. : This appeal is filed by Smt. Vijayalakshmi Puvvada (“the assessee”), feeling aggrieved by the order passed by the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi (“Ld. CIT(A)”), dated 17.04.2025 for the A.Y. 2013-14.
The assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal :
3. The brief facts of the case are that, the assessee had filed an appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) against the assessment order passed by the Learned Assessing Officer (“Ld. AO”) under section 147 read with section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (“the Act”) for Assessment Year 2013–14 dated 30.03.2022. However, the assessee did not comply with the notices issued by the Ld. CIT(A). Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was dismissed for non- prosecution.
4. Aggrieved with the order of Ld. CIT(A), the assessee is in further appeal before us. The Learned Authorised Representative (“Ld. AR”) submitted that the assessee had entrusted the appellate proceedings to his counsel. However, due to internal communication gap in the counsel’s office and his ill health, compliance to the notices issued by the Ld. CIT(A) could not be made. In this regard, the assessee has also filed an affidavit of the counsel confirming these facts. It was submitted that there was no intention or mala fide on the part of the assessee for non- compliance of notices before the Ld. CIT(A). Relying upon the principle of natural justice, the Ld. AR pleaded for one more opportunity to be granted to the assessee to prosecute the appeal on merits.
5. Per contra, the Learned Departmental Representative (“Ld. DR”) opposed the request of the assessee and submitted that adequate opportunities had already been provided by the Ld. CIT(A). Since the assessee failed to avail the same, the dismissal of the appeal by the Ld. CIT(A) was justified.
6. We have carefully considered the rival submissions and perused the material available on record. It is a matter of record that the appeal of the assessee was dismissed by the Ld. CIT(A) on account of non-compliance. At the same time, the assessee has placed on record an affidavit of his counsel explaining the circumstances of non-compliance, which include internal communication lapse and health issues. Considering the nature of the issue and in order to advance substantial justice, we are of the view that one more opportunity should be granted to the assessee to prosecute his appeal on merits. Dismissing the appeal ex-parte without considering the merits would result in denial of justice. Therefore, in the interest of justice, we set aside the impugned order and remit the matter back to the file of the Ld. CIT(A) for de novo adjudication. The Ld. CIT(A) shall afford adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee and permit the assessee to file necessary submissions, explanations, and supporting evidences in support of his claim. The assessee is also directed to cooperate fully in the appellate proceedings.
In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.