IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
DELHI BENCH `SMC', NEW DELHI
Before Sh. N. S. Saini, Accountant Member
ITA No. 6489/Del/2018 : Asstt. Year : 2010-11
Sh. Gulashanobar, Vs Income Tax Officer,
Sanjay Parashar, Adv., Ward-1(2),
47-A, Devika Chamber, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad
District Centre, Ghaziabad
(APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT)
PAN No. AMVPG8719P
Assessee by : Sh. Anoop Sharma, Adv. &
Sh. Sanjay Parashar, Adv.
Revenue by : Sh. S. L. Anuragi, Sr. DR
Date of Hearing: 05.02.2019 Date of Pronouncement:08.02.2019
ORDER
Thi s i s an appeal fil ed by the assessee agai nst the orde r of
CIT(A), Ghazi abad dated 31.08.20 18.
2. The assessee has rai sed foll owi ng grounds of appeal :
" 1. That the Ld. CIT(A), erred in law, on facts and in
surrounding circumstances in sust aining the impugned
addition of Rs. 2206440 under in applicable section 69
of I.T. Act in a mechanical, arbitrary and ex-parte
manner, ignoring that the followin g fundamental errors
of law, rende r the initiation and completion of
proceedings u/s 147 of I.T. Act unsustainable in law
ab-initio.
2. That the Ld. CIT(A) and Ld. A.O. both erred in law,
on facts and in surrounding ci rcu mstances in failing to
appreci ate that the mere fact that cash deposits
having been made in bank a ccount does n ot itself
indicate/reflect that these deposits constitute an
income which has escaped assessment.
3. That in doing so, Ld. A.O. proceeded on a fallaci ous
assumption that the cash deposits in the bank account
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Gulashanobar
constituted an income/investment which has escaped
assessment without bringing any material on record to
substantiate that the so called income/investment had
escaped asse ssment.
4. The since there was n o relevant tangible material
worth the name on record at the time of formation of
belief except vague AIR inform ation, the impugned
belief so entertained by Ld. A.O. being pre-supposed
and speculative in nature, not only loses its legal
sanctity but also eclipsed the jurisdiction of Ld. A.O. to
proceed u/s 147/148 of I.T. Act.
5. That without preju dice to a bove , fundamental errors
of law, issuance of inquiry letter w ithout prior approval
of competent authority u/s 133(6) of I.T. Act also
render the entire procee dings from A to Z null and void
in law, ab-initio.
6. That the appellant craves leave to modify/amend or
add any one or more grounds. "
3. The AR of the assessee submitted that the Assessi ng
Offi cer passed order u/s 147 r.w .s. 144 of the Income Tax Act,
1961 as the assessee di d not appear before hi m and fil ed the
detail s of cash de posi t i n the bank account of R s.22,06,440/- .
Therefore, he treated the enti re deposi t as unexpl ai ned and
added the same to the i ncome of the assessee.
4. The assessee before the CIT(A) sought adjournment on
09.08.2018, 16.08.2018 whi ch was granted by hi m. The
assessee sought adjou rnment on the date of heari ng on
29.08.2018 whi ch was rejected by the CIT(A) on the ground
that four adjournments were al ready granted to the assessee.
Thereafter, he di smi ssed the appeal of the assessee and uphel d
the orde r of the CIT(A) . He pray ed that the matter shoul d be
restored back to the fil e of the AO and the assessee be granted
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Gulashanobar
opportuni ty to present i ts case before the AO wi th the
necessary documents. The AR of the assessee al so submi tted
that non appearance before the AO as wel l as the CIT(A) was,
by the Authori zed Representati ve of the assessee and the
assessee de pended on hi m for pre senti ng i ts case before the A O
and CIT(A). He argued that for mi stake of the Counsel of the
assessee, the assessee shoul d not be penali zed.
5. On the other hand, the l d. Departmental Representati ve
vehemently opposed the submi ssion of the AR of the assesse e
and submi tted that as suffi ci ent opportuni ty was all owed to the
assessee both by the AO and the CIT(A) and a s the assessee
fail ed to appea r and fil e necessary documents requi red for
compl eti ng the assessment, the order of the CIT(A) shoul d be
confi rmed and appeal of the assessee shoul d be di smi ssed.
6. After considering the rival submissions and perusing the materials
available on record, I am of the considered opinion that the assessee had
engaged counsel for appearing before the Assessing Officer and the CIT(A)
who failed to put in appearance and file the necessary details on behalf of
the assessee. Hence, the addition came to be made in the hands of the
assessee for deposit of cash in the bank account of Rs.22,06,440/-. I am of
the view that for the default of the Counsel of the assessee, the assessee
should not be penalized. Therefore, in order to render substantial justice to
the assessee, I set aside the orders of the lower authorities and remand the
matter back to the file of the Assessing Officer to re-adjudicate the issues
involved in this appeal afresh after allowing reasonable and proper
opportunity of hearing to the assessee. The assessee is directed to appear
before the AO and file all necessary documents and evidences on which it
wishes to rely upon and when called upon to do so by the Assessing Officer.
Thus, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.
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Gulashanobar
7. In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical
purposes.
(Order Pron ounced i n the Open Court on 08/02/2019).
Sd/-
(N. S. Saini)
Accountant Member
Dated: 08/02/2019
*Subodh*
Copy forwarded to:
1. Appellant
2. Respondent
3. CIT
4. CIT(Appeals)
5.DR: ITAT
ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
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