PARMAITA CHANDRA,HOWRAH vs. I.T.O.,WARD-46(3), KOLKATA

The assessee in the present case is an individual, who filed her return of income for the year under consideration on 16.04.2013 declaring total income of Rs.1,73,710/-. In the assessment completed under section 144 read with section 147 vide an order dated 19.12.2016, the total income of the assessee was determined by the Assessing Officer at Rs.13,56,891/- after making additions of Rs.1,83,181/- and Rs.10,00,000/- on account of undisclosed interest and unexplained investment respectively.

Against the order passed by the Assessing Officer under section 144/147, an appeal was preferred by the assessee 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 for non-prosecution vide his appellate order dated 16.05.2019 passed ex-parte. Aggrieved by the order of the ld. CIT(Appeals), the assessee has preferred this appeal before the Tribunal.

I have heard the arguments of both the sides and also perused the relevant material available on record. Besides explaining the non- compliance on the part of the assessee during the course of appellate proceedings before the ld. CIT(Appeals), the ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that proper and sufficient opportunity was not given even by the Assessing Officer before completing the assessment under section 144 to the best of his judgment. In support of this contention, he has filed an affidavit of the assessee explaining the non-compliance before the ld. CIT(Appeals) and has urged that one opportunity may be given to the assessee to put forth her case by sending the matter back to the Assessing Officer. The ld. D.R. has also not raised any objection for sending the matter back to the Assessing Officer for proper verification. I accordingly set aside the impugned order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) ex-parte and restore the matter to the file of the Assessing Officer with a direction to complete the assessment afresh after giving the assessee proper and sufficient opportunity of being heard in the matter. As undertaken by the ld. Counsel for the assessee, the assessee shall make due compliance before the Assessing Officer and shall extend all the possible cooperation in order to enable the Assessing Officer to complete the assessment afresh expeditiously.

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open Court on January 14, 2020.