PUNJAB POLICE WELFARE FUND,CHANDIGARH vs. ITO (EXEMPTIONS), CHANDIGARH

This is assessee's appeal for assessment year 2012-13 against the order dated 08.08.2023 passed by the ld.

The assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal:

The brief facts of the case, as per the impugned order are that proceedings u/s 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were initiated against the assessee and notice u/s 148 of the ITA 600/CHD/2023 A.Y. 2012-13 3 Act was issued on 25.03.2019. In response, the assessee filed its return of income on 29.05.2019 declaring ‘Nil’ income. During the course of assessment proceedings, notice u/s 142(1) of the Act and questionnaire, were issued on ITBA E-filing Portal on different dates to call for necessary information. In response, the assessee filed necessary information on ITBA Portal. The Assessing Officer, being not satisfied with the reply of the assessee, issued a notice u/s 142(1) of the Act alongwith detailed show cause on 05.12.2019. The assessee did not respond to the said notice, therefore, another opportunity was given to the assessee to file the reply on 10.12.2019. The assessee again failed to furnish any explanation. Accordingly, the Assessing Officer completed the assessment on the basis of record and made an addition of Rs.99,12,640/- vide order dated 20.12.2019.

Being aggrieved by the order passed by the Assessing Officer, the assessee went in appeal before the ld. CIT(A). Before ld. CIT(A), notices u/s 250 on e-portal were issued on various dates i.e., on 29.01.2021, 26.04.2022 and 25.07.2023, but no compliance was made and no written submissions or any other supporting document was filed by the assessee.

Aggrieved, the assessee is in appeal before this Tribunal.

The ld. DR could not rebut the aforesaid factual position.

We have heard the parties and have perused the material on record. It is found that various notices, fixing the dates of hearing, were issued through e-proceedings on e-filing Portal. The assessee has contended that the then Counsel of the assessee Shri Arvind Mehta, Advocate expired during the Covid Pandemic on 05.05.2021 and due to this fact, there was no representation before the ld. CIT(A). Copy of Death Certificate has been filed. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has requested that the matter may be sent back to the ld. CIT(A) and the assessee may be given opportunity to present its case. 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 ITA 600/CHD/2023 A.Y. 2012-13 5 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 the same are required to be necessarily followed.

The appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.