Amit Makkar, Delhi V. ITO,Ward-34(4), Delhi

ITA 616/DEL/2023

AI Insights

The case involves Amit Makkar, the appellant, who challenged the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), which dismissed his appeal in limine due to non-prosecution. The original assessment by the Assessing Officer under Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 2017-18, included additions for unexplained cash deposits during the demonetization period amounting to Rs. 28,40,000. The CIT(A) dismissed the appeal without discussing the merits, citing the doctrine of 'vigilantibus non dormientibus', which implies that the law assists those who are vigilant, not those who are careless. The Tribunal found this approach inappropriate, referencing Section 250(6) of the Act, which mandates that the CIT(A) must state the points for determination and provide reasons for the decision.

• Counselvise Citation: [2023] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 121762 (ITAT-DELHI)
• Duration Of Justice: 1 month(s) 19 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 23-04-2023
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: SMC
• Next Hearing Date: 23-04-2023
• Assessment Year: 2017-2018
• Appeal Filed On: 05-03-2023
• Other Referred Cases: CIT vs. Premkumar Arjundas Luthra HUF (2017) 291 CTR 614 (Bom.)
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Section: 250; 69A

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “SMC” DELHI BEFORE SHRI KUL BHARAT, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SHRI PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER I.T.A No.616/DEL/2023 Assessment Year 2017-18 Amit Makkar, C/o C. Mohan Jain & Co., 204, Triveni Complex, E-10/11/12, Jawahar Park, Laxmi Nagar, Near Heera Sweets, Delhi-110092 v. ITO, Ward-34(4), Delhi. TAN/PAN: AGJPM0402B (Appellant) (Respondent) Appellant by: Ms. Bharti Sharma, Adv. Respondent by: Shri Om Parkash, Sr.DR Date of hearing: 24 04 2023 Date of pronouncement: 24 04 2023 O R D E R PER PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA, A.M.: The capt i oned appe al has been fi l ed b y t he Assessee agai nst th e orde r of the C o mmi ssi oner of I nco me Ta x ( Appeals), NFA C, Del hi ( ‘C I T(A ) ’ i n s hort) dat ed 27. 07. 2022 ari si ng f r o m the assessment or der dat ed 19.1 2. 2019 passe d b y t he Assessi ng Of fi cer ( AO) under Secti on 143( 3) of t he Inco me Tax Act, 1961 (t he Act ) concer ni ng AY 2017- 18. 2. A s per its grou nds of a ppeal, the asse ssee has c ha lle nge d th e addi ti ons ma de on acco unt o f cash depos its dur ing demonetiz at ion pe ri od a mounting to Rs. 28, 40, 0 00/ - as unexplai ne d mone y of the assessee u nde r Se cti on 69A r. w . Sectio n 115BBE of th e Act. The I.T.A No.616/Del/2023 2 assessee has fu rt her c hal le nged th e summar y dispos al of fi rst appea l by t he C IT ( A) on acc ount of n on pr osec ut i on. 3. Ms. Bhar ti Sharma, the l d. couns el attende d for t he asse ssee pointed ou t t hat the C IT (A ) has dis miss ed t he a ppe al of the assessee i n lim ine on t he gro und of non prose cuti on of appea l by the ass essee befo re him. 4. O n pe rusa l o f the or de r of the C IT (A), w e st raightawa y noti ce t ha t t he C IT (A) has dismi ssed the a ppeal before i t f or w ant of prosec uti on and non comp lia nce o f s tatut or y not ices b y a ve r y cr ypti c orde r w i th out an y di scu ssio n on merit T he CIT (A ) has decli ned t o entertain the adjournm ent invoke d t he doct ri ne of vigi lant i bus non d orm ie nt ibus w herei n its i s ordained so- • L a w w i l l h el p on ly t ho se w ho a re v i g i l an t . L aw w i ll n ot as s is t t h o se w h o ar e c a r e l ess o f h i s/ h e r ri gh t . In o r de r to c l ai m o ne ’ s r i g ht , s h e/ h e m u st b e w at c h f ul o f h i s/ he r r i gh t . O nly t ho se p e r so n s, w ho a r e w a t c h ful a n d c a re fu l o f usi n g h i s/he r r i ght s, a r e e nt i t l e d t o t h e b e n e f i t s o f l aw . • A pe r s on w ho ha s k e pt m u m du r i ng t he st at ut o r y p e r io d c a n n ot c l a i m fo r t he e n for c e m e nt o f r i g ht a ft e r t he st a t uto r y l i mi t a t i o n. 5. We st ra ightw ay refer t o Secti on 250(6) of the A ct whic h enjo ins that the C IT (A ) sh al l st at e the po ints for determinat ion be fore i t a nd t he decis ion s hall be rende re d on s uch points alon gw it h reas ons for t he decisi on. Thus, i t is i ncumben t upo n the CIT (A ) to deal w it h the grounds on me rits even in ex parte orde r. In view of Sec tion 250 (6) of t he A ct, t he C IT(A ) has no pow er to dis mi ss an a ppea l on ac count o f non -prosecutio n. This view is als o I.T.A No.616/Del/2023 3 taken by t he H on’b le Bomb ay H igh C ourt in cas e of C IT vs. Prem kumar Arj und as L ut hra H UF ( 2017) 29 1 CTR 614 (Bom . ). A ba re glace of the or der of the C IT (A ) show s that C IT (A ) has not addressed i tse l f o n the va rious poi nts placed for its de terminat ion at all and dis mi ssed the appe al of assess ee for de fa ul t i n nonappea rance. N eedless t o sa y, t he CIT (A ) pla ys role of both adju dicati ng au tho ri t y as wel l as a ppel la te authority. Thus, the CIT (A ) co ul d n ot have shunne d the app eal fo r non- comp li ance w ithout address i ng the iss ue on mer it s. 6. In t he total it y of t he circums ta nces, w e cons ider it j us t and exped ie nt to res tore t he matter bac k to the C IT (A ) i n the l arge r inte res t of j us ti ce w it h a view to ena bl e t he assess ee t o ava il pro per opp ort uni t y fo r dis posal of appea l b y t he CIT (A ) on va ri ous points. Ne edl ess t o s ay, the assessee s ha ll exte nd full c o- ope ration t o t he CIT (A ) w i thout a ny demur, f ai ling w hich, the CIT (A ) s ha ll at li be rt y t o conclude the appella te proc eedings i n accorda nce wit h l aw. H ence, the or de r of the CIT (A ) appea le d agains t, is set as ide a nd al l the is s ues ra ised i n the i mpugne d appea l a re res tored back t o t he f ile of t he C IT(A ) for fres h adju dicati on i n accordance w ith l aw afte r givi ng reaso nable opportunit y of hea ri ng to the asses se e. 7. In t he result, appeal of the as sesse e i s al lowed for s tati stical pur pos es. Order pronounced in the open Court on 24/04/2023. Sd/- Sd/- [KUL BHARAT] [PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA] JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER DATED: /04/2023 Prabhat