Non-receipt of Notices and Lack of Digital Access: ITAT remands ₹34.77 Lakh LTCG Addition as 'Equitable Relief' [Read Order]

The Nagpur Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) granted relief to an auto driver assessee in a case involving the disallowance of ₹34.77 lakh towards long-term capital gains.

In this case, the Assessing Officer (AO) vide assessment order made an addition of Rs. 34,77,643/- being a disallowance on account of long-term capital gain. The assessee, Mr Ramkrushna Narayan Kanzode, being aggrieved, challenged the said addition by filing an appeal before the Commissioner.

Despite sending various notices, the assessee made no compliance with those. Therefore, in the constrained circumstances, the Commissioner decided the appeal of the assessee based on the material available on record and ultimately dismissed the same and eventually affirmed the said addition made by the AO.

Though notice for the date of hearing had been issued to the assessee, the assessee neither appeared nor filed any adjournment application.

The Tribunal observed that the Commissioner afforded four opportunities to the assessee by issuing four notices in October and December 2024 and thereafter in January and February 2025. It is a fact that an appeal against the assessment order dated 28.12.2018 was instituted on 31.01.2019, and there is nothing in the order as to what has happened in between; and there is a huge gap in deciding the appeal filed by the assessee.

The assessee claimed that he was an auto driver having education up to 7th class only and works for pick up and drop off of school children from their school and back, and the assessee does not even have any email ID and does not understand much about technology, and that is why the assessee sought for physical notice instead of sending notice by the Commissioner through email.

And therefore, the assessee to the specific question whether communication may be sent by email, had replied with “NO”. Therefore, the probability cannot be ruled out that the assessee could not have received the notices issued by the Commissioner.

The single bench of Narender Kumar Choudhry (Judicial Member) remanded the instant case to the Commissioner for decision afresh, by affording a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee.

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