SHRI ATAM VALLABH SHARMANOPASK GURUKUL TRUST (REGD.),LUDHIANA vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (EXAMPTIONS), CHANDIGARH

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ITA 642/ASR/2017Status: DisposedITAT Amritsar29 May 20183 pages
AI SummaryRemanded

What did the Tribunal hold?

The Tribunal held that rejecting the registration application without providing a final opportunity to the assessee to establish its case contravened the principles of natural justice. Therefore, the order of the CIT was set aside.

What were the facts?

The assessee trust applied for registration under Section 12AA of the IT Act. After submitting a reply to a show cause notice, the CIT rejected the application without providing a further opportunity for the assessee to establish its case.

What were the issues?

Whether the rejection of a registration application under Section 12AA without affording a final opportunity to the assessee to establish its case violates the principles of natural justice.

Which sections of the Income-tax Act were involved?

Section 12AA

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, AMRITSAR BENCH, AMRITSAR

Before: SH. SANJAY ARORA & SH. N.K.CHOUDHRY

Hearing: 14.05.2018Pronounced: 29.05.2018

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL AMRITSAR BENCH, AMRITSAR BEFORE SH. SANJAY ARORA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER AND SH. N.K.CHOUDHRY, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA No.642(Asr)/2017 Assessment Year:

Shri Attam Vallabh Vs. The CIT (Exemptions) Shramanopasak Gurukul Chandigarh Trust (Reg.) Village Hussainpura, Jalandhar Bye Pass Road, Ludhiana (Punjab) PAN:AAHAS1203K (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by: Sh. Pankaj Bhalla (C.A) Respondent by: Sh. Pavan K. Kumar (Ld. DR) Date of hearing: 14.05.2018 Date of pronouncement: 29.05.2018 ORDER PER N.K.CHOUDHRY, JM: The instant appeal has been preferred by the Assessee/Appellant, on feeling aggrieved against the order dated 31.05.2017 passed by the Ld. CIT (Exemptions), u/s 12AA (1) (b) (ii) of the I.T. Act, 1961 (hereinafter called as ‘the Act’).

2.

The brief facts of the case are that an application for registration u/s 12AA of the I.T Act was filed by the assessee trust on dated 2nd January, 2017. On consideration of the said

ITA No.642/Asr/2017 2 Sh. Attam Vallabh Shramanopasak Gurukul Trust(Regd.) Ludhiana vs. CIT(E)

application an opportunity of personal hearing was offered to the assessee trust on 30th June, 2017 and was requested to file details/clarifications as mentioned in para No.5 of the order, however on the fixed date, no one attended on behalf of the assessee trust. Thereafter, in order to follow the principle of natural justice, the Ld. CIT(E) offered another opportunity to the assessee trust by fixing the date of hearing for 18.07.2017. As it reflects from para No.6 of the order under challenge that on 20.07.2017 Sh. V.V. Bhalla, C.A (Ld. A R of the applicant trust ) attended and filed reply in response to the show cause notice/queries as mentioned in para No.6 of the order. Thereafter, no opportunity was provided to the applicant trust, and on the basis of the reply itself the registration application was rejected. The emphasis of the Ld. AR is on the facts that after receiving Applicant's reply in response to show cause notice dated 13.06.2017, no opportunity was given to the assessee trust either for confrontation and/or for establishing its case for grant of registration.

3.

We have made specific enquiries from the Ld. DR and also perused the relevant record of the Ld. CIT(E), it nowhere reflects that while deciding an application for grant of registration u/s 12AA of the Act, the assessee was ever given any opportunity for establishing its case for grant of registration before consideration of reply/documents of the Applicant trust and/or before passing the order impugned herein, which according to

ITA No.642/Asr/2017 3 Sh. Attam Vallabh Shramanopasak Gurukul Trust(Regd.) Ludhiana vs. CIT(E)

out considered view amounts to contravention to the principle of natural justice and cannot be sustained and liable to be set aside with direction to the Ld. CIT(E) to grant an opportunity before passing a final order, to the assessee trust for establishing of its case. The case is remanded back to the file of Ld. CIT(E) for deciding afresh without being influenced by any observation of this order and/or of the year dated 31st July, 2017 impugned herein passed by the Ld. CIT(E), Chandigarh, after giving proper opportunities of being heard to the parties concerned within 03 months of the this Order .

4.

In the result, the appeal filed by the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open Court on 29 .05.2018.

Sd/- Sd/- (SANJAY ARORA) (N.K.CHOUDHRY) ACCOUNTANT MEMBER JUDICIAL MEMBER

Dated:29.05.2018 /PK/ Ps. Copy of the order forwarded to: (1) Shri Attam Vallabh Shramanopasak Gurukul Trust (Regd.), Ludhiana (Punjab) (2) The CIT (Exemption), Chandigarh (3) The SR DR, I.T.A.T., Amritsar True copy By order

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