S.GANGA DEVI, W/O SARAVANAN,MADURAI vs. ITO NON CORPORATE WARD 2(2), MADURAI

The assessee filed this appeal against the order of Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-2, Madurai in 12 dated 22.02.2018 for assessment year 2009-10.

Smt. S. Ganga Devi, the assessee, an individual is a wholesale dealer of fertilizer and pesticides. While making the assessment for assessment year 2009-10, the Assessing Officer made various additions. Aggrieved against that order, the assessee filed an appeal before the CIT(A). The CIT(A) dismissed the appeal. Aggrieved against the order, the assessee filed this appeal.

The Ld. AR submitted that the assessee’s case was represented by her representative at Madurai, who took the help of one of his friends at Chennai to assist him in representing the case before the Ld. CIT(A) and both of them appeared before the Ld. CIT(A) on an number of occasions. On 16.02.2018 the assessee received a hearing letter dated 15.02.2018 from the office of the CIT(A) posting the case for hearing on 21.02.2018. Thus, the assessee was allowed only 4 days of which 17.02.2018 & 18.02.2018 were holidays. On 21.02.2018, the Chennai counsel had to be present at Chennai for performing his mother’s annual srardh ceremony and hence a short adjournment was sought by the Madurai representative on 21.02.2018.

The Ld. CIT(A) refused to accept the request for adjournment and disposed the appeal without giving effective opportunity and considering various written submissions dated 15.04.2013, :-3-: 15.11.2013, 14.04.2014 & 10.02.2015 and filed a copy of assessee’s grievances letter submitted to the Board dated 31.07.2018 etc. Per contra, the Ld. DR supported the orders of the lower authorities.

We heard the rival submissions. Since, the assessee is pleading that there was no effective hearing opportunity and the appeal is disposed ex-parte without considering varius written submissions etc., we deem it fit to remit all these issues back to the Ld. CIT(A) for a fresh examination after affording effective hearing to the assessee, pass the order on merits.

In the result, the assessee’s appeal is treated as allowed for statistical purposes.