ITAT Allahabad Judgments — January 2022

The Tribunal set aside the ex-parte order of the CIT(A) due to a violation of natural justice. The matter was remanded to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication after providing one more opportunity of hearing to the assessee.

The Tribunal accepted the assessee's prayer to withdraw the appeal, noting that the assessee had opted for the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme and paid the tax. The appeal was dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty to revive if the dispute was not settled.

The Tribunal allowed the assessee to withdraw the appeal. It also directed the Revenue to look into the assessee's claim of uncredited prepaid taxes and issue Form No. 5 under VSVS, 2020, if the claim is found meritorious.

The Tribunal held that the assessee's reply was not a withdrawal but a request to defer proceedings. The CIT(E) erred in rejecting the application without considering it on merits.

The Tribunal held that the amendments made by the Finance Act, 2021 are prospective and not retrospective. Following the jurisdictional High Court's decision and its own previous order, the Tribunal ruled that if employee PF/ESI contributions are deposited before the due date for filing the return of income, deduction under Section 36(1)(va) is allowable.

The Tribunal noted that the quantum appeal, which formed the basis for the penalty, had been set aside by a coordinate bench of the Tribunal to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication. Therefore, the penalty order was also set aside.