The Ahmedabad Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal(ITAT) remanded the case to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] due to a violation of natural justice, as the appellant was not given a proper opportunity to be heard before an ex-parte order was passed.
Vijaybhai Patel,appellant-assessee, failed to file his return of income for A.Y. 2012-13. The Assessing Officer (AO) received information about a cash deposit of Rs. 91,71,500/- in his Bank of Baroda account, prompting the reopening of the case under Section 147 of the Act.
The assessee’s explanation for the deposit was found unsatisfactory, and Rs. 91,71,500/- was added as unexplained cash deposits. Additionally, Rs. 6,70,465/- was added as agricultural income due to missing details on land holdings and agricultural activities. The assessment was concluded on 01.03.2016, with a total income of Rs. 98,88,751/-.
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The assessee, dissatisfied with the AO’s order, filed an appeal with the First Appellate Authority. The appeal was dismissed in the impugned order.
The assessee then appealed before the tribunal.
The assessee’s counsel, said that the CIT(A) had passed the order without giving the assessee a chance to present his case. He asked for the case to be sent back to the CIT(A) to allow the assessee a chance to be heard and then decide the case.
In response, the revenue counsel agreed that no opportunity was given to the assessee and had no objection to sending the case back to the CIT(A).
The two member bench comprising T.R.Senthil Kumar(Judicial Member) and Narendra Prasad Sinha(Accountant Member) reviewed the order of the CIT(A) and found that the assessee was not given an opportunity to be heard before the ex-parte order was passed. The printout from the ITB Portal showed no hearing date.
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The revenue counsel was asked to get a report from NFAC about the hearing opportunities provided. The report confirmed that the only opportunity given was on 19.06.2017 by the CIT(A), and no further opportunity was provided after the appeal was transferred to National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC).
The appellate tribunal found this to be a violation of natural justice and decided to set aside the order, directing the CIT(A) to allow the assessee a proper opportunity to be heard.
The tribunal also noted the serious issue of NFAC disposing of the appeal without a hearing, which caused unnecessary delays and costs for the assessee. It directed that a copy of the order be sent to the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax(CCIT),NFAC, with a request for an inquiry and to issue guidelines to avoid such lapses in future cases.
In short,the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes.
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