Objections to Draft Assessment Order filed beyond Statutory Time Limit: ITAT restores matter to DRP for Verification [Read Order]

The Ahmedabad Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) restored the matter to the Dispute Resolution Panel ( DRP ) for verification after ruling that the objections filed by the assessee to the draft assessment order were not time-barred.

Javith Anver Basha,appellant-assessee,a non-resident living in Qatar with income from house property in India, bought a property in Bangalore for ₹1,40,00,000 during the assessment year. The Department then initiated proceedings under Section 147 and assessed an income of ₹14,15,000.

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The assessee filed objections to the draft assessment by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT), Vadodara, but the DRP dismissed them as time-barred, stating they were received on 12.04.2024, past the deadline under Section 144C(2). The DRP noted that the application was invalid because it was received late.

The assessee appealed, explaining that the objections were emailed on 09.04.2024 and the hard copy was submitted on 12.04.2024. However, the DRP only considered the hard copy submission date and dismissed the objections without considering the email. The assessee's counsel provided the email as evidence, arguing that the objections were filed on time, as the deadline was 09.04.2024.

The two member bench comprising Siddhartha Nautiyal(Judicial Member) and Makarand V.Mahadeokar(Accountant Member) heard the arguments and reviewed the facts. It found that the assessee had sent the objections to the correct email address, which was the same one mentioned in the DRP’s order. However, the DRP did not consider this email when dismissing the objections as time-barred.

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The appellate tribunal decided that the appeal was not time-barred and sent the case back to the DRP for verification. If the email was correctly sent, the DRP was instructed to examine the objections on their merits and the matter was sent back to DRP.

In short,the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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