ITAT Indore Judgments — December 2020

The Tribunal permitted the assessee to withdraw the appeal. The appeal was dismissed as withdrawn, with the assessee being free to file a fresh application if Form No. 5 was not issued by the department.

The Tribunal found no infirmity in the Pr. CIT exercising powers under Section 263 as the AO had wrongly allowed the claim without proper examination. However, the Tribunal modified the direction to the AO, allowing expenses for furniture and air conditioners if they were part of the contract for the new house construction.

The Tribunal held that mere filing of an appeal is insufficient; it requires effective persuasion. Since the assessee was not present and did not arrange for representation, the appeal was dismissed.

The Tribunal found that the assessee was not provided with sufficient opportunity to be heard and the AO passed an ex-parte order. The Tribunal set aside the lower authorities' orders and remanded the case back to the AO for fresh adjudication.

The Tribunal held that the Pr. CIT was not justified in invoking Section 263 as the AO had conducted inquiries, and the Pr. CIT did not demonstrate how these inquiries were insufficient. The Pr. CIT should have conducted further inquiry himself rather than remitting the issue to the AO.