SAVITA RANI AGARWAL,KOLKATA vs. A.C.I.T.,CIRCLE-29, KOLKATA

The assessee in the present case is an individual who is engaged in the business of manufacturing and dealing in nuts, bolts, rivets & fasteners etc. The return of income for the year under consideration was filed by her on 30.092012 declaring a total income of Rs. 23,01,710/-. In the assessment completed u/s 143(3) vide an order dated 09.02.2015, the total income of the assessee was determined by the AO at Rs. 38,66,140/- after making an addition of Rs. 15,64,430/- on account of disallowance of interest paid by the assessee on certain loans which were treated as bogus in the assessment completed for the immediately preceding year i.e. AY 2011-12.

Against the order passed by the AO u/s 143(3), an appeal was filed by the assessee before the Ld. CIT(A) and since there was no Assessment Year: 2012-13 Smt. Savita Rani Agarwal compliance on the part of the assessee to the notices issued by him fixing the said appeal for hearing on two occasions, the Ld. CIT(A) dismissed the appeal of the assessee for non-prosecution vide his appellate order dated 30.04.2019 passed ex-parte. Aggrieved by the order of the Ld. CIT(A), 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. In support of the preliminary issue raised by the assessee challenging the impugned order passed by the Ld. CIT(A) ex-parte dismissing the appeal of the assessee for non-prosecution, the learned counsel for the assessee has submitted that the appeal of the assessee was fixed for hearing by the Ld. CIT(A) on two occasions with the gap of about one year and since the notices stated to be issued for the said hearings were not received by the assessee, none could appear before the Ld. CIT(A) on behalf of the assessee. He has also submitted the issue involved in the appeal of the assessee for the year under consideration relating to the disallowance on account of interest was consequential to issue involved in assessee’s own case for the immediately preceding year i.e. A.Y. 2011-12 wherein the corresponding loans on which interest was paid and disallowed in the year under consideration had been treated as bogus. He has submitted that since the appeal of the assessee for A.Y. 2011-12 challenging the order of the AO treating the said loans as bogus for A.Y. 2011-12 was pending with the Ld. CIT(A), the Ld. CIT(A) was not justified in dismissing the appeal of the assessee for the year under consideration before disposing of the appeal for A.Y. 2011-12 and that too without going into the merit of Assessment Year: 2012-13 Smt. Savita Rani Agarwal the case. Keeping in view these submissions made by the learned counsel for the assessee, I consider it fair and proper and in the interest of justice to set aside the impugned order passed by the Ld. CIT(A) ex-parte dismissing the appeal of the assessee for non- prosecution and remit the matter back to him for disposing of the appeal of the assessee afresh on merit after disposing the appeal of the assessee for the immediately preceding year i.e. A.Y. 2011-12 and after giving the assessee proper and sufficient opportunity of being heard. As undertaken by the learned counsel for the assessee, the assessee shall make due compliance before the Ld. CIT(A) and shall extend all the cooperation in order to enable the Ld. CIT(A) to dispose of the appeal expeditiously.

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is treated as allowed for statistical purpose. Order Pronounced in the Open Court on 24th October, 2019.