Uttar Pradesh Water Supply and Sanitation Mission, Lucknow V. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Exemption Circle, Lucknow

ITA 192/LKW/2020

• Counselvise Citation: [2020] 110 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 9832 (ITAT-LUCKNOW)
• Duration Of Justice: 1 month(s) 25 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 01-07-2020
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: 2017-2018
• Appeal Filed On: 06-05-2020
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Keywords: Opportunity of being heard; Application of stay
• Section: 12A; 11

Judgement Text

I.T.A. NO.192/LKW/2020 S.A.NO.24/LKW/2020 ASSESSMENT YEAR:2017-18 1 IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL LUCKNOW BENCH B, LUCKNOW BEFORE SHRI A. D. JAIN, VICE PRESIDENT AND SHRI T. S. KAPOOR, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER I.T.A.NO.192/LKW/2020 ASSESSMENT YEAR:2017-18 UTTAR PRADESH WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION MISSION, 6, SAROJINI NAIDU MARG, LUCKNOW. PAN:AAAAU 0995K VS. A.C.I.T., EXEMPTION CIRCLE, LUCKNOW. (APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT) S.A.NO.24/LKW/2020 (IN I.T.A.NO.192/LKW/2020) ASSESSMENT YEAR:2017-18 UTTAR PRADESH WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION MISSION, 6, SAROJINI NAIDU MARG, LUCKNOW. PAN:AAAAU 0995K VS. A.C.I.T., EXEMPTION CIRCLE, LUCKNOW. (APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT) O R D E R PER T. S. KAPOOR, A.M. THIS IS AN APPEAL FILED BY THE ASSESSEE AGAINST TH E ORDER OF LEARNED CIT(A)-I, LUCKNOW DATED 27/03/2020 PERTAINING TO AS SESSMENT YEAR 2017- 2018. THE APPEAL WAS HEARD THROUGH VIDEO CONFEREN CING. APPELLANT BY SHRI S. C. AGARWAL, ADVOCATE SHRI ASHISH AGARWAL, ADVOCATE RESPONDENT BY SHRI S. K. MADHUK, CIT (DR) DATE OF HEARING 30 / 06 /20 20 DATE OF PRONOUNCEMENT 01/07/2020 I.T.A. NO.192/LKW/2020 S.A.NO.24/LKW/2020 ASSESSMENT YEAR:2017-18 2 2. IN THIS APPEAL THE ASSESSEE HAS TAKEN VARIOUS GR OUNDS BY WHICH IT HAS ARGUED THAT THE ASSESSEE CANNOT BE SUBJECTED TO TAX AS THE ASSESSEE IS A SOCIETY REGISTERED U/S 12A OF THE I.T. ACT AND IN T HE EARLIER YEARS IT ENJOYED EXEMPTION U/S 11 OF THE ACT. IT WAS FURTHER ARGUED THAT THE CIT(A) HAS HURRIEDLY PASSED THE ORDER ON 27/03/2020, WHICH WAS A LOCKDOWN PERIOD AND THEREAFTER THE DEPARTMENT HAS TAKEN A HUGE AMOU NT OF ABOUT RS.125 CRORES FROM ITS BANK ACCOUNT AS PART OF THE DEMAND CREATED ILLEGALLY. IT WAS ARGUED THAT MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, VIDE LETTER DATED 24 TH MARCH, 2020 HAD ISSUED DIRECTIONS FOR STOPPING OF THE WORK OF ALL OFFICES FOR A PERIOD OF 21 DAYS STARTING FROM 25/03/2020 BU T LEARNED CIT(A) PASSED THE ORDER ON 27/03/2020 WHICH IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES PREVAILING AT THAT POINT OF TIME AS D UE TO LOCKDOWN THE ASSESSEE COULD NOT REPRESENT ITSELF BEFORE CIT(A). LEARNED COUNSEL FOR THE ASSESSEE WAS ASKED AS TO WHETHER HE WILL BE WILLING TO GO BACK TO CIT(A) FOR READJUDICATION AS NONE HAD APPEARED BEFORE HIM DUE TO LOCKDOWN, LEARNED A.R. STATED THAT HE IS WILLING TO GO BACK TO CIT(A) BUT REQUESTED THAT A PARTICULAR TIME FRAME MAY BE FIXED FOR PASSING THE APPROPRIATE ORDER. 3. LEARNED D.R. WAS ASKED ABOUT HIS COMMENTS TO WHI CH HE AGREED WITH THE PROPOSAL. 4. WE HAVE HEARD THE RIVAL PARTIES AND HAVE GONE TH ROUGH THE MATERIAL PLACED ON RECORD. WE FIND THAT THE CIT(A) HAD FIXED THE DATE OF HEARING FOR 03/03/2020, 12/03/2020 AND 23/03/2020 AND ON 27/03/ 2020 HE PASSED THE ORDER. WE ALSO OBSERVE THAT THE ASSESSEE HAD REQUE STED FOR ADJOURNMENT VIDE LETTER DATED 12/03/2020 WHICH WAS GIVEN BY THE OFFICE STAFF OF CIT(A). LEARNED CIT(A) HAS MENTIONED IN HIS ORDER THAT STAF F OF HIS OFFICE WERE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ADJOURN THE HEARING AND THEREFORE TEL EPHONICALLY IT WAS INFORMED TO THE A.R. OF THE ASSESSEE AND FURTHER NO TICE WAS ISSUED ON 13/03/2020 FOR COMPLIANCE ON 23/03/2020, ON WHICH D ATE, ALL GOVERNMENT I.T.A. NO.192/LKW/2020 S.A.NO.24/LKW/2020 ASSESSMENT YEAR:2017-18 3 OFFICES IN LUCKNOW WERE CLOSED DUE TO LOCKDOWN IMPO SED BY THE U.P. STATE GOVERNMENT AND THE ASSESSEE COULD NOT ATTEND THE PR OCEEDINGS BEFORE THE CIT(A) WHICH PROCEEDINGS THEMSELVES COULD NOT HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED AS SUCH. COMPLETE LOCKDOWN WAS IMPOSED IN THE COUNTRY DUE TO COVID-19 BY THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, VIDE LETTER DATED 24/03/2020 WHO HAD ISSUED INSTRUCTIONS WHEREIN IT I S STATED THAT OFFICES OF THE STATE/UNION TERRITORY GOVERNMENTS, AUTONOMOUS BODIES, CORPORATIONS ETC. SHALL REMAIN CLOSED FOR A PERIOD OF 21 DAYS WITH EF FECT FROM 25/03/2020. THEREFORE, UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES, THE CIT(A) SHO ULD NOT HAVE PASSED THE ORDER ON 27/03/2020 AND THAT TOO EX-PARTE QUA ASSESSEE. UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES, WE DEEM IT APPROPRIATE TO REMIT THE ISSUE BACK TO T HE FILE OF LEARNED CIT(A) FOR READJUDICATION. HE SHOULD PASS THE ORDER AFTER GIV ING REASONABLE OPPORTUNITY OF BEING HEARD TO THE ASSESSEE. THE REQUEST OF LEARNE D A.R. THAT CIT(A) BE GIVEN A TIME FRAME TO PASS THE ORDER CANNOT BE ACCEPTED UND ER THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES OF COVID-19. HOWEVER, CIT(A) WILL PASS THE ORDER AS SOON AS THE CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT. 5. SINCE WE HAVE REMITTED THE APPEAL TO THE FILE OF CIT(A), THE STAY APPLICATION FILED BY THE ASSESSEE BECOMES INFRUCTOUS AND IS THE REFORE DISMISSED. 6. IN THE RESULT, THE APPEAL IS ALLOWED FOR STATIST ICAL PURPOSES AND THE STAY APPLICATION IS DISMISSED AS INFRUCTUOUS. (ORDER PRONOUNCED IN THE OPEN COURT ON 01/07/2020) SD/. SD/. ( A. D. JAIN ) ( T. S. KAPOOR ) VICE PRESIDENT ACCOUNTANT MEMBER DATED:01/07/2020 *SINGH COPY OF THE ORDER FORWARDED TO : 1. THE APPELLANT 2. THE RESPONDENT. 3. CONCERNED CIT 4. THE CIT(A) 5. D.R., I.T.A.T., LUCKNOW ASSISTANT REGISTRAR