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Facts
The assessee, a co-operative society, claimed a deduction under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act, which the Assessing Officer disallowed, amounting to Rs. 65,34,893/-, citing insufficient proof of genuine activity. The assessee's subsequent appeal to the CIT(A) was dismissed ex parte without a proper examination of the facts.
Held
The Tribunal condoned a 10-day delay in filing the appeal and noted that the CIT(A) had dismissed the case ex parte without considering its merits. Therefore, the Tribunal remanded the entire matter back to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication, directing the CIT(A) to provide the assessee a proper opportunity to be heard and to submit supporting documents.
Key Issues
Whether the CIT(A) was justified in dismissing the appeal ex parte without examining the merits of the Section 80P deduction claim. Whether the assessee is entitled to the deduction under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act.
Sections Cited
250, 80P, 143(2), 142(1)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, COCHIN BENCH, COCHIN
Before: Shri Inturi Rama Rao & Shri Sonjoy Sarma
Chittur Road, Kunnathurmedu Post, Palakkad, Kerala – 678013. PAN : AAEAT8777G. (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by : None Respondent by : Smt. Leena Lal, Snr AR Date of Hearing : 03.06.2025 Date of Pronouncement : 10.06.2025 O R D E R Per Sonjoy Sarma: The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against an order dated 07.08.2024 of the National Faceless Appeal Centre [hereinafter referred to as ‘CIT(A)’] passed u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’).
At the outset, it is noted that there is a delay of 10 days in filing the instant appeal before the Tribunal. In this connection, the assessee has filed an application for condonation of such delay and after considering the same, we condone the delay and admit this appeal for adjudication.
The Palakkad Co-Operative Marketing Society Ltd. 3. At the time of hearing, no one appeared on behalf of the assessee, although notices were served from the registry to the assessee. We cannot keep this appeal pending for inordinate delay for adjudication; therefore, we feel it necessary to decide this appeal on the basis of material available on record and with the assistance of the ld. DR.
Brief facts of the case are that the assessee is a co-operative society and engaged in purchase and sale of commodities. Return of income was filed for the relevant assessment year on 29.01.2019. Later on, the case of the assessee was selected for limited scrutiny under CASS in order to verify the issue relating to deduction under chapter VIA for claiming deduction u/s 80P of the Act. Accordingly, statutory notices u/s 143(2) and 142(1) of the Act were issued. In response to the notices, the ld. AR of the assessee appeared time to time before the Assessing Officer. However, the Assessing Officer did not satisfy with the explanation given by the assessee and disallowed Rs.65,34,893/- after denying the deduction u/s 80P on the ground of non-satisfaction of production of sufficient proof to prove the activity of the society as genuine to claim the benefit of section 80P of the Act. .
Aggrieved by the above order, the assessee preferred an appeal before the ld. CIT(A), however, the appeal of the assessee was dismissed by the ld. CIT(A) without properly examining the factual matrix of the case and the ld. CIT(A) decided the appeal ex parte without giving proper opportunity to the assessee to prove its case.
The Palakkad Co-Operative Marketing Society Ltd. 6. The ld. DR has agreed to the fact that in the interests of justice, the Tribunal may remand back the matter to the file of the ld. CIT(A) with a direction to re-examine the issue afresh.
We, after hearing the submission of the ld. DR and perusing the materials available on record, find that the appeal of the assessee was dismissed ex parte by the ld. CIT(A) by confirming the order of the Assessing Officer without looking into merits of the case and without applying any independent mind by the ld. CIT(A). In the interests of justice and fair play, we, therefore, deem it necessary to remand back the whole issue to the file of the ld. CIT(A) with a direction to re-examine the issue afresh. We also direct the assessee to file supporting documents in support of the claim of deduction u/s 80P of the Act to substantially prove the case before the ld. CIT(A) and the ld. CIT(A) will pass order in accordance with law after giving proper and sufficient opportunities of hearing to the assessee.
In terms of the above, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced on 10.06.2025.