SUNNY TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD.,KOLKATA vs. I.T.O.WARD-2(4), KOLKATA

The assessee in the present case is a Company, which is engaged in the business of sale of Software. The return of income for the year under consideration was filed by it on 03.11.2007 declaring total income at Assessment Year: 2007-2008 Sunny Technologies Pvt. Limited ‘NIL’. In the assessment completed under section 143(3) vide an order dated 22.12.2009, an addition of Rs.1,72,514/- was made by the Assessing Officer to the total income of the assessee on account of disallowance of 50% of the interest expenditure claimed by the assessee.

The disallowance made by the Assessing Officer on account of interest was challenged by the assessee in the appeal filed before the ld. CIT(Appeals) and since there was no satisfactory compliance on the part of the assessee to the notices issued by him fixing the said appeal for hearing from time to time, the ld CIT(Appeals) dismissed the appeal of the assessee vide his appellate order dated 28.11.2018 passed ex-parte thereby confirming the disallowance made by the Assessing Officer on account of interest. Aggrieved by the order of the ld. CIT(Appeals), the assessee has preferred this appeal before the Tribunal.

We have heard the arguments of both the sides and also perused the relevant material available on record. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that none of the notices stated to be sent by the ld. CIT(Appeals) fixing the appeal of the assessee for hearing for various dates was ever received by the assessee and such none receipt of the notices resulted into non-compliance on the part of the assessee. Keeping in view this submission made by the ld. Counsel for the assessee, we are satisfied that there was a sufficient cause for non-appearance of the assessee before the ld. CIT(Appeals) when its appeal was fixed for hearing. Even the ld. D.R. has not raised any objection in this regard. We, therefore, set aside the impugned order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) ex-parte and remit the matter back to him for disposing of the appeal of the assessee afresh on merit after giving the assessee proper and sufficient opportunity of being heard. As undertaken by the ld. Counsel for the assessee, the assessee shall make due compliance before the ld. CIT(Appeals) and shall extend all the possible cooperation in order to enable the ld. CIT(Appeals) to dispose of the appeal afresh expeditiously.

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is treated as allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open Court on July 02, 2020.