Loading judgment…
Facts
The assessee's appeals for AY 2019-20 and 2020-21 were dismissed ex parte by the Ld. CIT(A) due to the assessee's non-appearance and failure to respond to opportunities. This led to the confirmation of the Assessing Officer's orders without a decision on merits.
Held
The Tribunal restored the appeals to the Ld. CIT(A) for a decision on merits, directing the CIT(A) to provide adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee. The assessee was also directed to cooperate in the assessment proceedings.
Key Issues
Whether the CIT(A) was justified in dismissing appeals ex-parte and confirming the Assessing Officer's orders without deciding on the merits of the case when the assessee failed to respond to notices.
Sections Cited
Section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, GUWAHATI BENCH, GUWAHATI
Pinku Paul, Algapur, Kalibari Bazar, Hailakandi, Assam - 788150 [PAN: BHWPP9328Q] ……..…...……………....Appellant vs. Dy. Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle, Guwahati, Aayakar Bhawan, Christian Basti, GS Road, Guwahati – 781005 ................................ Respondent Appearances by: Assessee represented by : Abhishek Bansal, AR Department represented by : Santosh Kumar Karnani, Addl. CIT Date of concluding the hearing : 11.11.2025 Date of pronouncing the order : 17.11.2025 O R D E R
Per Rajesh Kumar, AM
The present appeals arise from orders dated 31.01.2025 passed u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereafter “the Act”) by the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), Central NER, Guwahati [hereafter “the Ld. CIT(A)].
At the outset, we note that the appellate orders were passed by the ld. CIT(A) ex parte when the assessee did not respond to various opportunities granted by the ld. CIT(A). Consequently, Ld. CIT(A) dismissed the appeals by confirming the orders of the Assessing Officer without discussing and deciding the issues on merits. Under the Pinku Paul circumstances, in our view, the interest of justice would be well-served if the appeals are restored to the file of the ld. CIT(A) with a direction to decide the same on merits after affording adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee. We also direct the assessee to cooperate in the assessment proceedings failing which an adverse inference may be taken against the assessee. Accordingly, we restore the issues in both the appeals to the file of the ld. CIT(A).
In the result, both appeals of the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced on 17.11.2025