ITAT Dismisses Cooperative Society Appeal as Withdrawn, Grants Liberty to File Fresh Appeal if S.119(2)(b) Petition is Rejected [Read Order]

Pandaveswar Colliery Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd,appellant-assessee,was a cooperative society providing credit facilities to its members. It did not file its income return for the assessment year 2018-19.

The Assessing Officer (AO) observed cash deposits of Rs.26,41,000 and withdrawals of Rs.3,53,23,139 in its account with The Burdwan Central Co-op Bank Ltd. The case was reopened under section 148, and a notice under section 142(1) was issued, following which the assessee submitted the necessary documents.

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The assessee reported a net profit of Rs.44,78,248 after depreciation and claimed deductions of Rs.11,58,311 under section 80P(2)(a)(i) and Rs.33,19,937 under section 80P(2)(d) for income from other cooperative societies. Since the return was not filed under section 139(1), the AO disallowed the total deductions claimed.

The assessee appealed to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)[CIT(A)], which dismissed the appeal and upheld the AO’s order. The assessee then filed an appeal before the tribunal challenging the decision.

The assessee counsel stated that the assessee had filed an application under section 119(2)(b) with the Pr. CIT (Asansol) for condonation of delay in filing the return for assessment year 2018-19, along with the audited report, to claim deductions under section 80P. The counsel requested that the appeal be treated as not pressed and sought liberty to file a fresh appeal if the application was rejected.

The departmental counsel did not object to this request.

The two member bench comprising Sonjoy Sarma (Judicial Member) and Rakesh Mishra (Accountant Member) heard both parties, reviewed the record, and considered the submissions of the assessee counsel. It dismissed the appeal as withdrawn and granted liberty to the appellant to file a fresh appeal before the competent authority if the section 119(2)(b) petition was not accepted.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed as withdrawn.

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