KALLIDUMBIL NECHITHADATHI SHAJAHAN,MALAPPURAM V. ITO, WARD-2, TIRUR

ITA 862/COCH/2025

AI Insights

The case involves Kallidumbil Nechithadathi Shajahan, the appellant, who is engaged in the wholesale trade of dry fruits and chocolates. For the Assessment Year 2019-20, the appellant did not file a regular return of income, but was later found to have made imports totaling Rs. 30,23,148, which led the Assessing Officer (AO) to issue a notice under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, suspecting income escape. The appellant failed to respond to this notice, resulting in an addition of Rs. 38,75,086 as unexplained expenditure. The appellant's subsequent appeal to the CIT(A) was dismissed due to a delay of 118 days, which the CIT(A) did not condone, citing lack of a medical certificate for the delay. The Tribunal found that the CIT(A) should have considered the appellant's chronic health issues and remanded the case for a fresh decision on merits.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 788859 (ITAT-COCHIN)
• Duration Of Justice: 15 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 28-11-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Partly Allowed
• Bench Allotted: SMC
• Assessment Year: misc
• Appeal Filed On: 13-11-2025
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Partly Allowed
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: NEETHU S.
• Assessee Lawyers: RAGHUNATHAN
• Keywords: Unexplained expenditure
• Section: 148

Judgement Text

"IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL COCHIN BENCH BEFORE SHRI INTURI RAMA RAO, AM ITA No. 862/Coch/2025 Assessment Year: 2019-20 Kallidumbil Nechithadathi Shajahan .......... Appellant Nechithadathil, Puthyr, Pallikkal Devathiyal, Malappuram 673636 [PAN: JCBPS9648E] vs. The Income Tax Officer, Ward-2, Tirur .......... Respondent Assessee by: Shri Raghunathan, Advocate Revenue by: Ms. Neethu S. Sr. DR Date of Hearing: 27.11.2025 Date of Pronouncement: 28.11.2025 O R D E R This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi [CIT(A)] dated 29.09.2025 for Assessment Year (AY) 2019-20. 2. Brief facts of the case are that the appellant is an individual engaged in the business of wholesale trade of dry fruits, chocolates, etc. No regular return of income for AY 2019-20 was filed by the appellant. However, based on the information that the appellant had made imports aggregating to Rs. 30,23,148/- the AO formed an opinion that income escaped assessment to tax. Accordingly, issued a notice u/s. 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) on Printed from counselvise.com 2 ITA No. 862/Coch/2025 Kallidumbil Nechithadathi Shajahan 05.04.2023 after complying with the procedures laid down ups 148A of the Act. The appellant neither complied with the notice u/s. 148 nor filed the information sought for by the AO. In the circumstances the AO made addition of Rs. 38,75,086/- treating the entire imports as unexplained expenditure of the appellant. 3. Being aggrieved, an appeal was filed before the CIT(A) with a delay of 118 days. The CIT(A) had dismissed the appeal in limine without condoning the delay rejecting the explanation of the appellant that stating that medical ground cannot be accepted because no medical certificate was produced for the delay of 124 days. 4. Being aggrieved, the appellant is in appeal before this Tribunal in the present appeal. 5. I heard the rival contentions and perused the material available on record. The appellant had taken plea that he was continuously ill even during 2025. Despite the fact that no medical certificate was produced, keeping in view his chronic ill health conditions in the preceding year the CIT(A) ought to have condoned the delay of 118 days and adjudicated the issue in the appeal on merits. Therefore, I remand the matter back to the file of the CIT(A) for de novo disposal of the appeal in accordance with law after affording reasonable opportunity of hearing to the appellant. Printed from counselvise.com 3 ITA No. 862/Coch/2025 Kallidumbil Nechithadathi Shajahan 6. In the result, the appeal filed by the assessee stands partly allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open court on 28th November, 2025. Sd/- (INTURI RAMA RAO) ACCOUNTANT MEMBER Cochin, Dated: 28th November, 2025 n.p. Copy to: 1. The Appellant 2. The Respondent 3. The Pr. CIT concerned 4. The Sr. DR, ITAT, Cochin 5. Guard File Assistant Registrar ITAT, Cochin Printed from counselvise.com "