MAHENDRA P ANGARA,MUMBAI vs. ACIT-19(2), MUMBAI

The assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal:-

The brief facts of the case are that the assessee is an individual, engaged in the business of trading in various ferrous & Non ferrous metals, filed his return of income for AY 2014-15 on 28/11/2014, declaring total income of Rs. 24,54,400/-. The case was selected for scrutiny and the assessment has been completed u/s 143(3) of the I.T.Act, 1961, on 07/12/2016, determining the total income at Rs. 28,04,540/- by making additions towards interest paid on loans taken from Nazar Impex, on the ground that purported loans taken from the said parties was non genuine and consequently, interest paid on said loans cannot be allowed u/s 37 of the I.T.Act, 1961. The assessee has carried the matter in appeal before the first appellate authority. Before the Ld.CIT(A), the assessee, neither appeared, nor filed any details to justify its case, despite various dates of hearing was provided by the Ld.CIT(A) as noted by him in his appellate order at para 2.1 on pages 2 and 3. Therefore, he proceeded to dispose of appeal filed by the assessee ex-parte and decided the issue on merits, as per materials available on record and confirmed additions made by the Ld. AO towards disallowances of interest paid on loan taken from M/s Nazar Impex, on the ground that said loan was non genuine and which was in the nature of accommodation entries. Aggrieved by the Ld.CIT(A) order, the assessee is in appeal before us.

We have heard both the parties, perused the material available on record and gone through orders of the authorities below. The Mahendra P Angara Ld.CIT(A) has disposed of appeal filed by the assesee ex-parte on the basis of material available on record for the reasons that the assessee has neither appeared, nor filed any details to justify its case. No doubt, it is the duty of the person, who has filed appeal should go before the authorities and present its case with necessary evidences for speedy disposal of appeal. If the person, who has filed appeal did not appeared before the first appellate authorities, then the appellate authorities left with no option, but to dispose of the appeal, on the basis of material available on record, but such appeal cannot be disposed in lumine for non appearance of the parties. In this case, the assessee has explained the reasons for not appearing before the Ld.CIT(A), on the date specified for hearing appeal. On perusal of reasons adduced by the assessee for not appearing before the Ld.CIT(A), we find that there is no deliberate attempt from the assessee not to go before the appellate authorities. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of this case and also, taken note of reasons given by the assesse for not appearing before the Ld.CIT(A), we are of the considered view that the issue needs to go back to the file of the Ld.CIT(A) to give one more opportunity to the assessee to present its case with necessary evidences. Hence, we set aside the issue to the file of the Ld.CIT(A), to decide the issue in accordance with law after giving opportunity of hearing to the assessee. Needles to say, the assessee shall go before the Ld.CIT(A) and file necessary evidences, in order to dispose the appeal.

In the result, appeal filed by the assessee is allowed for statistical purpose.