The Delhi Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) remitted a case involving an unexplained Rs. 42.26 lakh cash deposit in a bank back to the Assessing Officer (AO) for fresh consideration, citing non-receipt of notices by the assessee.
Nirmala Dass,appellant-assessee, challenged the order dated 18.01.2024 passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals)[CIT(A)] for the assessment year 2012-13 .In the instant case, the AO passed an ex-parte order under Section 144, adding Rs. 42,26,000/- for unexplained cash deposits. The CIT(A) upheld the addition, and the assessee appealed against this decision.
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Section 144 of the Act empowers the tax authority to assess income to the best of its judgment if a person fails to file a return, does not comply with notices, or provides insufficient information. This allows the authority to determine taxable income based on available data, estimates, or other evidence, ensuring compliance even when the taxpayer does not cooperate fully.
The assessee raised several grounds, including that the CIT(A) erred in confirming the AO’s reassessment under Section 144/147 without following proper procedures. The addition of Rs. 42,26,000/- was wrongly confirmed as unexplained despite being from genuine sources, and the interest under Sections 234A, 234B, and 234C was incorrectly charged.
A single member bench comprising Shamim Yahya(Accountant Member) heard both parties and reviewed the records. It was noted that the AO and CIT(A) mentioned the assessee had not responded to the notices. The assessee counsel stated the notices did not reach the assessee, causing non-compliance, and requested an opportunity to present the case before the AO.
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The Departmental Representative(DR) did not object. After considering the facts, the tribunal decided to remit the case back to the AO to be decided afresh, with an opportunity for the assessee to be heard.
In short,the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes.
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