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Facts
The assessee filed an appeal against a penalty order directly before the ITAT, instead of first appealing to the CIT(A). The assessee appeared in person and admitted to the mistake due to ignorance and inadvertent error.
Held
The Tribunal held that as per Section 246 and 246A of the Income Tax Act, appeals against penalty orders passed by the Assessing Officer should be filed before the JCIT(A)/CIT(A) and not the ITAT. Therefore, the appeal filed before the Tribunal was not maintainable.
Key Issues
Whether an appeal against a penalty order passed by the AO is maintainable before the ITAT if not filed before the CIT(A) first.
Sections Cited
271(1)(c), 246, 246A
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, PUNE BENCH “B”, PUNE
Before: SHRI R. K. PANDA & SHRI VINAY BHAMORE
Assessment Year : 2011-12 Sandip Gulab Gogawale, Vs. ITO, Ward-5(3), Pune. 143, A/p- Gogalwadi, Taluka- Haveli, District- Pune- 412205. PAN : ALLPG3405D Appellant Respondent Assessee by : Shri Sandip Gogawale Revenue by : Shri Amit Bobde Date of hearing : 09.09.2025 Date of pronouncement : 10.09.2025 आदेश / ORDER
PER VINAY BHAMORE, JM:
This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order dated 03.01.2025 passed u/s 271(1)(c) of the IT Act by the Assessment Unit, Income Tax Department for the assessment year 2011-12.
When the appeal was called for hearing, the assessee himself appeared in person and submitted that due to ignorance and Tribunal instead of filing the first appeal before Ld. CIT(A). In this regard, the assessee also filed an application and requested before the Bench to pass appropriate order. He submitted that he will file the appeal before the CIT(A) as per law.
We have heard Ld. Counsels from both the sides and perused the material available on record. Considering the application filed by the assessee on 09.09.2025, we find that admittedly the assessee was required to file first appeal before Ld. CIT(A) against the penalty order passed u/s 271(1)(c) of the IT Act. However, due to ignorance the assessee inadvertently filed the instant appeal before this Tribunal. As per section 246 and 246A of the Income Tax Act, appeal against the penalty order passed by the Assessing Officer lies before JCIT(A)/CIT(A) and not before this Tribunal. Therefore, the instant appeal directly filed before this Tribunal is not maintainable and accordingly the present appeal is dismissed as infructuous.