A.P. TRADING & FINANCE CO. LTD.,KOLKATA vs. ITO, WARD - 1(4), KOLKATA, KOLKATA

The assessee in the present case is a Company, which is engaged in the business of share trading and investment. The return of income for the year under consideration was filed by it on 25.09.2012 declaring total income of Rs.5,86,478/-. In the assessment completed under section 143(3) vide an order dated 23.03.2015, the total income of the assessee M/s. A.P. Trading & Finance Co. Limited was determined by the Assessing Officer at Rs.4,92,09,212/- after making the following two additions:- (i) Share capital and share Rs.4,79,50,000/- premium amount treated as unexplained cash credit under section 68 (ii) Disallowance under section Rs. 6,72,734/- 14A read with Rule 8D

Against the order passed by the Assessing Officer under section 143(3), an appeal was filed 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 vide his appellate order dated 28.02.2017 passed ex-parte. 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. In support of the preliminary issue raised by the assessee in this appal challenging the impugned order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) ex-parte, the ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that the notice of hearing fixing the appeal of the assessee on 15.12.2016 was never received by the assessee. He has submitted that the Director of the assessee-company Mr. Virendra Singh Bengani attended the Office of the ld. CIT(Appeals) on the next date of hearing fixed on 03.02.2017 but the hearing did not take place. He has submitted that the assessee, therefore, filed a letter in the Office of the ld. CIT(Appeals) on 13.02.2017 praying that the hearing of its appeal may be fixed in the first week of March, 2017. He has submitted that the ld. CIT(Appeals), however, did not take cognizance of the said letter and proceeded to dismiss the appeal of the assessee vide his impugned order passed ex-parte on 28.02.2017. He has contended that the ld. CIT(Appeals) thus has dismissed the appeal of the assessee without M/s. A.P. Trading & Finance Co. Limited giving proper and sufficient opportunity of being heard and this position clearly evident from the record including the copy of letter filed by the assessee in the office of the ld. CIT(Appeals) is not disputed even by the ld. D.R. We, therefore, set aside the impugned order passed by the ld. CIT(Appeals) ex-parte without giving proper and sufficient opportunity of being heard to the assessee and remit the matter back to him for disposing of the appeal of the assessee afresh on merit after giving proper and sufficient opportunity of being heard to the assessee.

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is treated as allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open Court on January 01, 2019.