Income Tax Appeal on Demand Notice issued Pending before ITAT: Calcutta HC Directs to dispose expeditiously [Read Order]

The Calcutta High Court directed the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to expeditiously dispose of the challenge on the Income tax demand notice which was pending .

A.D. Electrosteel Co. Pvt. Ltd. & Anr, the petitioner filed the writ petition to withdraw/cancel the demand notice dated 6th August, 2025 issued under Section 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ( “said Act”). Being aggrieved by an order dated 25th March, 2015 passed under Section 143(3) of the said Act for the Assessment Year 2012-13, an appeal was filed before the office of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), Kolkata on 16th April, 2015. The appeal was subsequently dismissed on 3rd November, 2016 for non-prosecution.

Being aggrieved the petitioners filed an appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT). Such appeal was once, again dismissed for non-prosecution by the Tribunal, as would corroborate from the order dated 20th August, 2018.

A restoration application was filed which was registered as MA 121/Kol/2023. There was a delay of 1757 days in moving such an application. Since, no one had put in appearance on behalf of the assessee, despite notice, such application also came to be rejected by an order dated 22nd April, 2024.

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By an order dated 6th May, 2025, the Division Bench of this Court taking note of the peculiar facts and noting that there has been no proper explanation by the assessee in MA 121/Kol/2023 and also considering that the assessment was a high pitched assessment and the assessment officer had decided several issues and completed the assessment by its order dated 25th March, 2015, while setting aside the order dated 22nd April, 2024 had permitted the petitioners to apply afresh before the Tribunal.

The petitioners had proceeded before the Tribunal and such application is pending adjudication. In the interregnum, a demand has been raised on the petitioners on the basis of the assessment order dated 25th March, 2015.

As of now, no appeal is pending from such an order. Since an application filed by the petitioners for recalling is pending,the court viewed that the aforesaid application should be expeditiously disposed of by the Tribunal.

A single bench of Raja Basu Chowdhury disposed of the petition by observing that “Since the parties have highlighted that the matter is pending before the Tribunal and the next date is fixed on 19th September, 2025, let the recalling application be taken up for consideration on the same date, and be disposed of without any unnecessary adjournment to the parties.”

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