The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) ruled that it was not permissible for the assessing officer to conduct a second assessment on the identical matter within the same assessment year.
Mohammad Saleem, the assessee is an individual with limited education, earns income from operating a government-run ration shop or food grains shop. He contested the second assessment order, pertaining to the Assessment Year 2011-12, issued under Section 147/144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The assessment order was passed in his absence/ex parte, without his participation in the proceedings.
Against the ex parte order, the assessee filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), who dismissed the appeal of the assessee. Thus, the assessee filed second appeal before the tribunal.
During the hearing, Fareed Ahmed, the representative of the assessee, stated that the assessment order being disputed in this appeal was filed by the Income Tax Officer (ITO), Ward 63(3) in New Delhi on 06.08.2018. It was pointed out that prior to this, for the same assessment year 2011-12, the ITO of Ward 47(2) in Delhi had already issued a reassessment order under Section 147/143(3) of the Income Tax Act on 28.09.2018.
Om Prakash, the Department representative contented that the assessee, after completion of the assessment filed a copy that he has been assessed on 28.09.2018 by ITO, Ward 47(2), Delhi.
The tribunal observed that the CIT(A) did not controvert a clear factual position that for Assessment Year 2011-12 the Assessing Officer ITO, Ward 47(2), Delhi passed reassessment order on 28.09.2018 and thereafter the ITO, Ward 63(3) also passed second assessment order for the same Assessment Year 2011-12 under Section 147/144 of the Income Tax Act ex-parte qua assessee. In such a situation subsequent ex-parte reassessment orders cannot be held as sustainable.
After reviewing the facts the two-member bench comprising Chandra Mohan Garg (Judicial Member) and Pradip Kumar Kedia (Accountant Member) quashed the second assessment order on the same issue on the same Assessment Year and allowed the appeal of the assessee.
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