What did the Tribunal hold?

The Tribunal held that the CIT(A) should not have passed an ex parte order without adjudicating the appeal on merits. The appeal was set aside and restored to the CIT(A) for a fresh adjudication.

The assessee's appeal before the CIT(A) was dismissed ex parte as the assessee did not appear on the final hearing date. The assessee claimed it did not receive notice of this hearing, despite having filed written submissions earlier.

What were the issues?

Whether an ex parte order passed by the CIT(A) without adjudicating the appeal on merits is sustainable, especially when the assessee claims non-receipt of hearing notice.

P & K Dealers Pvt. Ltd. vs I.T.O., Ward-5(2) | ITAT Kolkata 2022

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, “A” BENCH, KOLKATA

Before: Shri A. T. Varkey, JM & Shri Rajesh Kumar, AM]

Pronounced: 02.02.2022

ORDER Per Shri A.T.Varkey, JM This is an appeal preferred by the assessee against the order of Ld. CIT(A)-16, Kolkata dated 02.03.2020 for AY 2012-13.

At the outset the Ld. A.R. of the assessee Shri Manish Tiwari drew our attention to the fact that the impugned order of the Ld. CIT(A) is an ex parte order. According to Ld. A.R. when the matter was fixed for hearing on the first date, the assessee had filed the written submission along with documents to substantiate its claim before the Ld. CIT(A). However later it did not receive the notice informing it of the last date of hearing fixed on 26.02.2020. So, the assessee could not appear and therefore the Ld. CIT(A) has passed the impugned order without hearing the assessee and also not on merits. Therefore, he wants us to restore the appeal back to file of the Ld. CIT(A).

Per contra, the Ld. D.R. Smt. Ranu Biswas opposes the plea of the assessee and submitted that the Ld. CIT(A) had given enough opportunity to the assessee, but the assessee failed to appear before the Ld. CIT(A) so the assessee should not be given a second innings.

We have heard both the parties and perused the records. We note that the impugned order of the Ld. CIT(A) is an ex parte order and we note that the assessee had filed written

P & K Dealers Pvt. Ltd. AY: 2012-13 submission before the Ld. CIT(A). However since the assessee was not aware of the last date of hearing fixed on 26.02.2020 it could not appear before the Ld. CIT(A), which prompted the Ld. CIT(A) to dismiss the appeal of the assessee without going into the merits of the case. We do not countenance such an action of the Ld. CIT(A). It has to be borne in mind that if an assessee is aggrieved by the order of the AO he has a statutory right to file an appeal before the Ld. CIT(A); and if the Ld. CIT(A) does not adjudicate the grounds of appeal of the assessee on merits the filing of appeal becomes meaningless. Therefore we set aside the order of the Ld. CIT(A) and restore the appeal back to the file of Ld. CIT(A) and direct him to adjudicate the appeal on merits. The assessee is directed to be diligent and prudent and to appear before the Ld. CIT(A) and submit all documents etc, if not submitted along with its written submission as claimed by it and the Ld. CIT(A) is directed to adjudicate the grounds of appeal in accordance with law after hearing the assessee if insisted by the assessee.

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

P & K DEALERS PVT. LTD.,KOLKATA vs. I.T.O.,WARD-5(2), KOLKATA

What did the Tribunal hold?

What were the facts?

What were the issues?

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