SUNITA BAGAI,PANCHKULA vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER, WARD-4, PANCHKULA

This is an appeal filed by the Assessee against the order of the Ld. CIT(A)/NFAC, Delhi dt. 08/01/2024 pertaining to Assessment Year 2012-13.

In this case, briefly the facts of the case are that the assessment was completed under section 143(3) r.w.s. 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, vide order dt. 03/12/2019 wherein an amount of Rs. 26,90,000/- has been brought to tax as unexplained money u/s 69A of the Act. Thereafter, the assessee carried 2 the matter in appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) who has since sustained the said order on account of non-prosecution.

Being aggrieved, the assessee is in appeal before us.

During the course of hearing, the Ld. AR submitted that the Ld. CIT(A) has passed an ex-parte order without providing adequate opportunity to the assessee. It was submitted that the notices so issued by him were sent on wrong email ID and doesn’t belong to the assessee. It was accordingly submitted that the notices so issued were therefore not served on the assessee and the assessee was prevented by sufficient cause for not attending to the proceedings before CIT(A). It was submitted that assessee be allowed one last opportunity and the matter may be remitted to the file of the Ld. CIT(A) to decide the same afresh and it was submitted that the assessee shall attend to the proceedings before the Ld. CIT(A) and file the necessary information/documentation.

Per contra, the Ld. DR submitted that various notices have been issued to the assessee but assessee has neither filed any reply to the said notices nor attend the proceedings before the Ld. CIT(A). At the same time, the ld DR couldn’t controvert the submissions of the assessee that the notices so issued were sent on email id which doesn’t belong to the assessee and more so, not specified by the assessee in Form 35 for necessary communication.

After hearing both the parties and perusing the material available on the record, I find that the assessee deserves one more opportunity and cannot be condemned unheard and therefore, keeping in view principles of substantial justice, the matter is remitted to the file of the Ld. CIT(A) to decide the same afresh after providing reasonable opportunity to the assessee.

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