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Facts
The assessee's appeal was dismissed by the CIT(A) for non-response to hearing notices, which were allegedly sent to an email ID not regularly used by the assessee. The AO had made an addition of Rs. 18,14,192/- to the returned income.
Held
The Tribunal found that there was a reasonable cause for the assessee's non-compliance. Therefore, the appeal was set aside, and the matter was remitted back to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication after providing the assessee a reasonable opportunity of hearing.
Key Issues
Whether the assessee had a reasonable cause for not responding to the hearing notices issued by the CIT(A), leading to the dismissal of the appeal ex-parte.
Sections Cited
250, 147, 144B, 139(1), 148, 89, 10(10C)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, PUNE BENCHES “SMC”, PUNE
Before: DR.MANISH BORAD & SHRI VINAY BHAMORE
आदेश / ORDER
PER DR. MANISH BORAD, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER :
The captioned appeal at the instance of assessee pertaining to A.Y. 2019-20 is directed against the order dated 27.06.2025 of National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) Delhi passed u/s.250 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter also called ‘the Act’) arising out of Assessment Order dated 28.02.2024 passed u/s.147 r.w.s.144B of the Act.
At the outset, Ld. Counsel for the assessee referring to the Affidavit dated 14.09.2025 given by the assessee has submitted that the notice(s) of hearing issued by ld.CIT(A) could not be responded because they were sent on email id not regularly used by the assessee and the same resulted into dismissal of the appeal. She submitted that if an opportunity is granted the assessee assures that all relevant details shall be furnished before ld.CIT(A) in support of grounds of appeal so that necessary adjudication can be carried out by ld.CIT(A).
On the other hand, ld. DR supported the orders of the lower authorities.
We have heard the rival contentions and perused the record placed before us. We observe that assessee is an individual and filed return of income u/s.139(1) as well as return in compliance to notice u/s.148 of the Act. Ld. Assessing Officer (AO) during the course of assessment proceedings observed that assessee has claimed relief u/s.89 of the Act in the return filed u/s.139(1) of the Act and afterwards wrongly claimed exemption at Rs.23,14,192/- under the head ‘Capital Receipt of Ex-gratia Severance Pay’. Ld. AO has observed that assessee at maximum can claim the deduction at Rs.5.00 lakh u/s.10(10C) of the Act and the remaining amount of Rs.18,14,192/- has been wrongly claimed as exempt income and accordingly made addition thereof. Against the returned income of Rs.26,40,760/- ld. AO made addition of Rs.18,14,192/- and assessed the income at Rs.44,54,952/-.
Aggrieved with the addition made by ld. AO assessee preferred appeal before ld.CIT(A) but after filing of the appeal, assessee failed to respond to the notices of hearing. In the Affidavit filed before us, it has been stated that the notices issued by ld.CIT(A) were sent on the email id ghodke_vivekanand@rediffmail.com which was not regularly used by the assessee and also he was not acquainted with using and accessing of emails. Due to such non-compliance, ld.CIT(A) dismissed the appeal confirming the action of the Assessing Officer.
We however considering the contentions made by ld. Counsel for the assessee and also the contents of the Affidavit find that ‘reasonable cause’ prevented the assessee to effectively represent the case before ld.CIT(A). Therefore, in the larger interest of justice and being fair to both the parties, we deem it proper to provide one more opportunity to the assessee by remitting the issues raised in the instant appeal to the file of ld.CIT(A) for necessary adjudication. Needless to mention that in the set aside proceedings ld.CIT(A) shall afford reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee. Assessee is directed to update latest email id and contact detail on ITBA portal. Assessee is also directed to remain vigilant and not to take adjournment unless otherwise required for reasonable cause. Impugned order is hereby set aside and effective grounds of appeal raised by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes.
In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced on this 10th day of October, 2025.