SAHOO DISTRIBUTERS PRIVATE LIMITED,JAJPUR V. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL CIRCLE, CUTTACK, CUTTACK

ITA 556/CTK/2024

AI Insights

The case involves multiple appeals filed by Sahoo Distributors Private Limited against various orders of the CIT(A), Bhubaneswar, concerning the assessment years 2019-20 and 2020-21. The appeals challenged the assessments and penalties imposed under various sections of the Income Tax Act, including sections 271AAC(1), 270A, 272A, and 271DA. The primary contention was the lack of a reasonable opportunity of hearing and the non-receipt of penalty orders, which led to delays in filing appeals. The ITAT acknowledged the procedural lapses and the serious health issues of the company's director during the relevant period, which contributed to the delays.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 40784 (ITAT-CUTTACK)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 08-01-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Partly Allowed
• Bench Allotted: DB
• Assessment Year: 2020-2021
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Partly Allowed
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: PER BENCH; SAROJ KUMAR DUBEY
• Assessee Lawyers: P.K.MISHRA
• Keywords: Principle of natural justice
• Section: 147; 144; 272A; 20

Judgement Text

" IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, BEFORE Assessment Year Sahoo Distributors Private Limited,At-Babuganj Bazar, PO/PS: Chhatia, Dist: Jajpur PAN/GIR No.AALCS 5499 K (Appellant Revenue by Per Bench ITA No.555/CTK/2024 for the assessment year 2020 filed by the assessee against the order Bhubaneswar-2 in Appeal No.CIT(A),Bhubaneswar assessment year 2020 2. ITA No.556/CTK/2024, ITA No. and ITA No.561/CTK/2024 are appeals filed by the assessee against separate orders of ld No.CIT(A), Bhubaneswar IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, CUTTACK BENCH, CUTTACK BEFORE SHRI GEORGE MATHAN, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND MANISH AGARWAL, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ITA Nos.555 to 561/CTK/2024 Assessment Years : 2020-21, 2019-20 Sahoo Distributors Private uganj Bazar, PO/PS: Chhatia, Dist: Jajpur Vs. Asst. Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle, Cuttack AALCS 5499 K (Appellant) .. ( Respondent Assessee by : Shri P.K.Mishra, Adv Revenue by : Shri Saroj Kumar Dubey, CIT DR and Shri S.C.Mohanty, Sr DR Date of Hearing : 08/01/20 Date of Pronouncement : 08/01/20 O R D E R ITA No.555/CTK/2024 for the assessment year 2020 filed by the assessee against the order dated 29.11.2024 of the ld CIT(A 2 in Appeal No.CIT(A),Bhubaneswar-2/10457/2019 assessment year 2020-2021. ITA No.556/CTK/2024, ITA No.557/CTK/2024, ITA No.558/CTK/2024 and ITA No.561/CTK/2024 are appeals filed by the assessee against separate orders of ld CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2 dated 30.11.2024 in Appeal No.CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2/10481/2019-20 in the matter of pe P a g e 1 | 6 IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, MEMBER , ACCOUNTANT MEMBER 20 Asst. Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle, Cuttack Respondent) Saroj Kumar Dubey, CIT DR and 2025 025 ITA No.555/CTK/2024 for the assessment year 2020-21 is an appeal of the ld CIT(A), 2/10457/2019-20 for the 557/CTK/2024, ITA No.558/CTK/2024 and ITA No.561/CTK/2024 are appeals filed by the assessee against the dated 30.11.2024 in Appeal 20 in the matter of penalty ITA Nos.555 to 561/CTK/2024 Assessment Years : 2020-21, 2019-20 P a g e 2 | 6 u/s.271AAC(1), in Appeal No.CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2/10482/2019-20 in the matter of penalty u/s.270A of the Act, in Appeal No.CIT(A), Bhubaneswar- 2/10483/2019-20 in the matter of penalty u/s.272A and in Appeal No.CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2/10480/2019-20 in the matter of penalty u/s.271DA for the assessment year 2020-2021. 3. ITA No.559/CTK/2024 is an appeal filed by the assessee against the order of the ld CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2 dated 29.11.2024 in Appeal No.CIT(A),Bhubaneswar-2/10640/2018-19 for the assessment year 2019- 2020 in the matter of assessment u/s. 147 r.w.s 144 of the Act. 4. ITA No.560/CTK/2024 is an appeal filed by the assessee against the order of the ld CIT(A), Bhubaneswar-2 dated 30.11.2024 in Appeal No.CIT(A),Bhubaneswar-2/10682/2018-19 for the assessment year 2019- 2020 in the matter of penalty u/s.270A of the Act. 5. Shri P.K.Mishra, ld AR appeared for the assessee and Shri Saroj Kumar Dubey, ld CIT DR and Shri S.C.Mohanty, Sr. DR appeared for the revenue. 6. In regard to ITA No.555/CTK/2024 for A.Y. 2020-21, It was submitted by ld AR that the ld CIT(A) has passed the order without providing reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee and for want of evidences and explanation. It was also submitted that the assessment order was passed during Covid period, therefore, the order passed by the ld ITA Nos.555 to 561/CTK/2024 Assessment Years : 2020-21, 2019-20 P a g e 3 | 6 CIT(A) and the AO was made on gross violation of principles of natural justice. The AR emphasized that the assessee was willing to pursue the appeal and requested that the matter be restored to the file of the AO and the assessee may be given an opportunity to produce the submission of evidence supporting the claim. 7. It was submitted by ld AR in regard to penalty orders u/s. u/s.271AAC(1), 270A, 272A and 271D,that the appeals were not filed before the ld CIT(A) within the due date, therefore, there was delay of 438 days, 438 days, 460 days and 431 days. It was submitted by ld AR that the assessee has filed condonation petitions that although the impugned penalty orders were uploaded in the departmental portal, but the hard copies of the same were never supplied to the assessee nor the assessee had received the orders in e-mail. Therefore, the assessee had no knowledge about passing of such orders. It was also the submission that during the said period, the Director of the assessee company was seriously ill and was suffered from some severe neurological problems and was under direct supervision of Doctor for treatment. It was the submission that only after receipt of recovery notice and telephonic call from the department, assessee came to know about the penalty proceedings and downloaded the same and requested its professional to file appeals before the ld CIT(A). It was the submission that it was in this backdrop that there was delay in filing of appeals before the ld CIT(A) and the ld CIT(A) has not condoned ITA Nos.555 to 561/CTK/2024 Assessment Years : 2020-21, 2019-20 P a g e 4 | 6 the request for condoning the delay and confirmed the penalty orders so passed by the Assessing Officer. 8. Similarly, in respect of ITA No.559/CTK/2024 for A.Y. 2019-20, ld AR contended the submissions as raised in ITA No.555/CTK/2024 for A.Y. 20202-2021 and requested for remitting the matter to the file of the Assessing Officer for re-adjudication. 9. ITA No.560/CTK/2024 is in relation to penalty levied u/s.270A of the Act. Ld AR submitted that there was delay of 438 days in filing of appeal before the ld CIT(A). He reiterated the similar submissions were made in regard to penalties levied for the assessment year 2020-2021 in para 7 above and requested to condone the delay. 10. In reply, ld CIT DR and Sr DR argued that the assessee had been given multiple opportunities but the assessee failed to comply the same. In regard to penalty orders, ld CIT DR submitted that the reasons given for condoning the delay are not justified. The orders have been uploaded in the I.T. portal and the assessee was not vigilant to its tax matters. 11. We have heard the rival contentions and perused the material available on record. It is noticed that the quantum appeals for the assessment years 2019-20 and 2020-2021 have been passed without affording reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee and the ITA Nos.555 to 561/CTK/2024 Assessment Years : 2020-21, 2019-20 P a g e 5 | 6 assessment orders have been passed u/s.147/144 of the Act due to non- compliance of the notices issued by the AO. Now, the ld AR has prayed that if one more opportunity is granted, the assessee will produce all the relevant documents and evidences in support of its claim. 12. Furthermore, the penalty orders were confirmed by the ld CIT(A) without condoning the delay. The assessee had furnished the plausible cause that although the penalty orders were uploaded by the department in the Portal but same were not sent through postal or email and as the Director was seriously ill due to neurological problems and under medical treatment, the appeals could not be filed within the stipulated period. We find the reasons given by the assessee for filing appeals delay before the ld CIT(A) are justifiable and the assessee would not gain anything by filing the appeals late. There is no mala fide imputable to the assessee. At the most for the inaction or a little negligence, the assessee can be burdened with the cost but its right of hearing of the appeal on merit ought not to be shut. Considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice, we condone the delay in filing the appeals before the learned CIT(A) and restore the matter back to the file of Assessing Officer for re-adjudication. 13. As the assessee had not cooperated during the assessment proceedings, a cost of Rs.2,000/- is levied per appeal to the ITAT Bar Association within two months and the evidence of receipt be produced ITA Nos.555 to 561/CTK/2024 Assessment Years : 2020-21, 2019-20 P a g e 6 | 6 before the AO. Non-payment of the cost would result the appeals of the assessee being treated as dismissed and the orders of the AO and ld CIT(A) upheld. The liberty is granted to the assessee to produce all the relevant documents, evidences and other details as are required to prove its case before the Assessing Officer. 14. In the result, appeals of the assessee stand partly allowed for statistical purposes. Order dictated and pronounced in the open court on 06/01/2025. Sd/- sd/- (Manish Agarwal) (George Mathan) ACCOUNTANT MEMBER JUDICIAL MEMBER Cuttack; Dated 08/01/2025 B.K.Parida, SPS (OS) Copy of the Order forwarded to : By order Sr.Pvt.Secretary ITAT, CUTTACK 1. The Appellant : Sahoo Distributors Private Limited,At-Banuganj Bazar, PO/PS: Chhatia, Dist: Jajpur 2. The Respondent: Asst. Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle, Cuttack 3. The CIT(A)- NFAC, Delhi 4. Pr.CIT, 5. DR, ITAT, 6. Guard file. //True Copy// "