The Bangalore Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal(ITAT)ordered for fresh adjudication after an email communication error led to the non-appearance of the assessee, before the Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals)[CIT(A)].
Saraswathi M Khjuri,the appellant-assessee,had filed an appeal against the order passed by National Faceless Assessment Centre(NFAC) for the assessment year (AY)2017-18 dated 14/05/2024.
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During the proceedings before the CIT-A, the assessee did not appear, despite several hearing notices being issued. The CIT-A sent all notices to the email address provided in Form 35 by the assessee, although the form clearly specified that no communication should be sent to that address.
Form 35 under the Income Tax Act is used to file an appeal with the CIT(A) against an assessment order from the Assessing Officer. It includes the assessee’s details, the order being appealed, grounds for appeal, and supporting documents. The form must be signed by the assessee or an authorized representative and submitted within 30 days of receiving the order. Appeals can be filed online through the income tax e-filing portal.
The tribunal contented that the non-appearance could not be attributed to any fault of the assessee and held that there was sufficient reason for the assessee’s failure to respond to the notices issued by the CIT(A).
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However, the assessee had requested adjournments for some notices, indicating awareness of the proceedings. Thus, the claim of being unaware could not be accepted, despite the notices being sent to the wrong email address.
The Authoritative Representative (AR) for the assessee took responsibility for compliance and requested to send the issue back to the AO for fresh adjudication, as the assessee also failed to appear during the assessment proceedings.
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The bench set aside the matter and granted the assessee another opportunity to present their case before the CIT-A, with the condition of no adjournments without valid cause, and directed a fresh adjudication.
The two-member bench comprising Prakash Chand Yadav (Judicial Member) and Waseem Ahmed (Accountant Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee.
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