PUJA DEALTRADE(P) LTD.,KOLKATA vs. I.T.O.,WARD-1(2), KOLKATA

This is the appeal preferred by the assessee is against the order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals)-1, Kolkata (hereinafter referred to as the Ld. CIT(A)”] dated 23.01.2019 for the AY 2012-13.

At the outset, the Ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that the Ld. CIT(A) has decided the appeals ex-parte as the assessee could not appear on various dates when the Ld. CIT(A) fixed this appeal for hearing. The Ld. Counsel submitted that the notices sent by the Ld. CIT(A) were not received by the assessee and therefore the Assessment Year: 2012-13 Puja Dealtrade Pvt. Ltd. these appeal of the assessee remained unattended before the Ld. CIT(A). The ld. Counsel of the assessee prayed before the Bench that the assessee may kindly be given one more opportunity to defend its case on merit before the Ld. AO by restoring this appeal to the file of the Ld. AO as before AO also compliances of summons issued u/s 131 of the act could not be made.

The Ld. D.R on the other hand strongly objected the prayers of the Ld. A.R by submitting that despite several opportunities granted, the assessee did not appear and therefore the said request of the counsel of the assessee may kindly be dismissed.

After hearing the rival parties and perusing the material on record, we observe that the assessee’s appeal was decided ex-parte when the assessee failed to turn up on the various dates fixed for hearings. We even note that the summons issued by the AO were not complied with during the assessment proceedings. Therefore , in order to give justice to the assessee and to meet the ends of justice, the assessee deserves to be given one more opportunity to defend its case on merits before the AO. Accordingly we restore the appeal to the file of the Ld. AO for the reasons cited above with the directions to decide the same on merits by affording the assessee a reasonable opportunity of hearing. Simultaneously we also direct the assessee to cooperate in the disposal of this appeal.

In the result, all the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.