EMERGING MEDICINE FORUM,CHANDIGARH vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (EXEMPTIONS), CHANDIGARH , CHANDIGARH

आदेश/ORDER

PER A.D.JAIN, VICE PRESIDENT

2. That the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax( Exemptions) has erred in rejecting the registration ex-parte only on the basis of ITA 90/CHD/2024 A.Y.2023-24 2 alleged non-compliance on part of the assessee when in fact no email/notice was received by the assessee to check the portal and as such the order passed is arbitrary and unjustified.

4. That the appellant craves leave to add or amend the grounds of appeal before the appeal is finally heard or disposed off.

5. That the order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax is erroneous, arbitrary, opposed to law and facts of the ease and is. thus, untenable.”

At the outset, the ld. Counsel for the assessee has invited 2. our attention to the impugned order of the ld.CIT(E) to submit that the same is an ex-parte order. He has submitted that the ld.CIT(E) has summarily rejected the application of the assessee, without giving any opportunity of hearing to the assessee to present its case. He has submitted that no notice of date of hearing was served by the ld.CIT(E), either through physical mode or through e-mail etc. That the notice of date of hearing was allegedly uploaded on ITBA Portal and the assessee was not aware of uploading of any such notice regarding date of hearing.

ITA 90/CHD/2024 A.Y.2023-24 3 were issued through ITBA Portal. The ld. Counsel for the assessee stated that no such notice of hearing was ever received.

Merely uploading of information about the date of hearing on the Income Tax Portal is not an effective service of notice. The matter now stands covered by the decision of the Hon'ble jurisdictional High Court in the case of ‘Munjal BSU Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Ludhiana through its authorized signatory Shri Bharat Goyal Vs Commissioner of Income Tax (E), Chandigarh’, in CWP 21028-2023 (O&M), wherein, vide order dated 04.03.2024, their Lordships have held that the provisions of Section 282(1) of the Income Tax Act and Rule 127(1) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962, envisage that it is essential that before any action is taken, a communication of the notice must be in terms of these provisions; that these provisions do not make mention of communication to be “deemed” by placing the notice on the e-portal of the Department; that an pragmatic view has always to be adopted in these circumstances; that an individual or a company is not expected to keep the e- portal of the Department open all the times so as to have knowledge of what the Department is supposed to be doing with regard to the submissions of forms, etc.; and that the principles of natural justice are inherent in the Income Tax provisions and ITA 90/CHD/2024 A.Y.2023-24 4 the same are required to be necessarily followed. Accordingly, the impugned order of the ld.CIT(E) is, hereby set aside with a direction to the ld.CIT(E) to decide the appeal of the assessee afresh after giving proper and adequate opportunity to the assessee to present its case. The assessee, no doubt, shall cooperate in the fresh proceedings before the CIT(E).

Order pronounced on 05th August,2024.