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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DELHI BENCHES : SMC-1 : NEW DELHI
Before: SHRI R.S. SYAL
These five appeals by the assessee arise out of the common order passed by the CIT(A) on 31.3.2016 confirming penalty imposed u/s 271(1)(c) of the Act in relation to the assessment years 2006-07 to 2009-10 & 2011-12.
Briefly stated, the facts for the assessment year 2006-07 are that notice u/s 153C was issued for filing the return of income, which was not responded by the assessee. Since no details were available and the case was getting time barred, the AO completed assessment u/s 144 of the Act, determining total income at Rs.20,24,620/-. In the like manner, the assessee remained unrepresented before the AO during penalty proceedings. As a result of that, penalty of Rs.6,25,386/-, being 100% of the amount of tax on the addition of Rs.20,24,620/-, was imposed.
The assessee argued before the ld. CIT(A) that it was not served with any notice and, further, it was not resident in India. The ld. CIT(A) did not accept this contention and confirmed the penalty imposed for assessment year 2006-07. The assessee is aggrieved against such penalty.
I have heard the rival submissions and perused the relevant material on record. It is observed that not only the assessment order, but, even the penalty order was also passed ex parte. The assessee’s contentions that no notice was served and that further he was not resident in India have not been dealt with by the authorities below. In my considered opinion, the ends of justice would meet adequately if the impugned order is set aside and the matter is restored to the file of AO for a fresh decision as per law, after allowing a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee. It is common submission by both the sides that facts and circumstances of the other years are, mutatis mutandis, similar to those of assessment year 2006-07. Following the view taken hereinabove, I set aside the impugned order and remit the matter to the file of AO for a de novo adjudication of the penalty after allowing a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee.
In the result, all the appeals are allowed for statistical purposes.
The order pronounced in the open court on 14.10.2016.