SHALOM CHARITABLE MINISTRIES OF INDIA,PALAKKAD V. ITO (EXEMPTION), THRISSUR

ITA 544/COCH/2025

AI Insights

The case involves Shalom Charitable Ministries of India, a charitable trust, which appealed against a penalty imposed for not auditing its books of accounts as required under Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the Assessment Year 2009-2010. The initial penalty was set at INR 1,00,000 and was contested by the Assessee at various levels, including the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Cochin. The NFAC dismissed the appeal citing a prior decision on the same matter, which the Assessee argued was made without a proper hearing, thus violating principles of natural justice. However, the Tribunal found the Assessee's current appeal to be a duplicate of the earlier one and dismissed it accordingly, leading to the dismissal of the associated stay application as well.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 716973 (ITAT-COCHIN)
• Duration Of Justice: 24 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 22-08-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Dismissed
• Bench Allotted: DB
• Assessment Year: 2009-2010
• Appeal Filed On: 29-07-2025
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Revenue
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Assessee Lawyers: ASSESSEE
• Keywords: Set aside; Opportunity of being heard; Principle of natural justice; Charitable institution; Application of stay

Judgement Text

"IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL COCHIN BENCH, COCHIN SHRI INTURI RAMA RAO, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER SHRI RAHUL CHAUDHARY, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA No.544/COCH/2025 (Assessment Year:2009-2010) AND Stay Application No. 74/Coch/2025 Shalom Charitable Ministries of India, Shalom Nagar, Gopalapuram Road, Chittur, Palakkad, Kerala-678553 [PAN:AADTS 6647 Q] …………. Appellant Income Tax Officer(Exemption), Thrissur, Aayakar Bhavan, S.T. Nagar, Thrissur-680001 Vs …………. Respondent Appearance For the Appellant/Assessee For the Respondent/Department : : None Smt. Leena Lal, Sr. DR Date Conclusion of hearing Pronouncement of order : : 20.08.2025 22.08.2025 O R D E R [ Per Rahul Chaudhary, Judicial Member: 1. The present appeal preferred by the Assessee is directed against the order, dated 29/05/2025, passed by the National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi [hereinafter referred to as ‘NFAC’] under Section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’] whereby the NFAC had dismissed the appeal against the Penalty Order, dated 08/06/2017, passed under Section 271B of the Act for the Assessment Year 2009-2010. The Assessee has also filed application seeking stay of recovery of the penalty amount. Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.544/Coch/2025 SA No. 74/Coch/2025 Assessment Year 2009-2010 2 2. The only effective ground raised by the assessee as under: “2. The learned CIT(A) dismissed the appeal on the ground that, as per order no. IТА-90/2017-18 dated 09.08.2019, passed by the CIT(A), Thrissur, the appeal against the penalty of ₹1,00,000 levied under section 271B for A.Y. 2009-10 has already been decided. It was therefore held that the present appeal has become infructuous and was accordingly dismissed. However, this reasoning is wholly unsustainable and against the principles of natural justice. The learned CIT(A) passed the order dated 09.08.2019 without granting any opportunity of personal hearing to the appellant. The appellant was not given a fair chance to present its submissions or clarify its position in person. It is a settled principle that an order passed without providing the assessee a reasonable opportunity to be heard is void in law and liable to be set aside. To seek for justification it filed an appeal before the CIT(A), NFAC, Delhi and yet no opportunity was provided to the Appellant. Therefore, the impugned order deserves to be quashed on this ground alone.” 3. When this appeal was taken up for hearing, none was present on behalf of the assessee. After perusing the grounds of appeal raised by the Assessee, we proceeded to hear the Learned Departmental Representative for adjudicating the appeal on merits. 4. We have taken into consideration the grounds raised by the Assessee and the submissions advanced by the Learned Departmental Representatives and have perused the material on record. 5. The relevant facts in brief are that the Assessee is a charitable trust. Vide Order, dated 08/06/2017, penalty of INR.1,00,000/- was levied on the Assessee under section 271B of the Act on account of failure to get books of accounts audited under Section 44AB of the Act. 6. Being aggrieved, the Assessee instituted the appeal before the NFAC on 08/12/2018. The said appeal was dismissed by NFAC vide, Order dated 29/05/2025. The NFAC noted that an appeal preferred by the Assessee against the Penalty Order, dated 08/06/2017, passed under Section 271B of the Act for the Assessment Year 2009-2010, bearing appeal No. ITA-90/2017-1), has already disposed off vide Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.544/Coch/2025 SA No. 74/Coch/2025 Assessment Year 2009-2010 3 Order, dated 09/08/2019. 7. Now the Assessee has preferred the present appeal before the Tribunal. 8. The Assessee has challenged the aforesaid dismissal order passed by the NFAC before this Tribunal on the ground of violation of principles of natural justice and denial of reasonable opportunity of being heard. We note that the Assessee has not disputed the findings returned by NFAC that the Ld. CIT(A), Thrissur has, vide Order dated 09/08/2019, confirmed the levy of penalty of INR.1,00,000/- under Section 271B of the Act. Thus, the appeal dismissed by the CIT(A) was in effect a duplicate appeal. In view of the aforesaid, we do not find any infirmity in the order passed by the NFAC and, therefore, the grounds raised by the assessee in the present appeal are dismissed. Accordingly, the appeal preferred by the Assessee is dismissed. In view of the fact that we have disposed of the appeal as aforesaid, the stay application moved by the Assessee is also dismissed. 9. In the result, the appeal preferred by the Assessee as well as stay application is dismissed. Order pronounced on 22.08.2025. Sd/- sd/- (Inturi Rama Rao) Accountant Member (Rahul Chaudhary) Judicial Member कोचीन Cochin; िदनांक Dated : 22.08.2025 vr/- Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.544/Coch/2025 SA No. 74/Coch/2025 Assessment Year 2009-2010 4 आदेश की Ůितिलिप अŤेिषत/Copy of the Order forwarded to : 1. अपीलाथŎ / The Appellant 2. ŮȑथŎ / The Respondent. 3. आयकर आयुƅ/ The CIT 4. Ůधान आयकर आयुƅ / Pr.CIT 5. िवभागीय Ůितिनिध ,आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण कोचीन / DR, ITAT, Cochin 6. गाडŊ फाईल / Guard file. आदेशानुसार/ BY ORDER, सȑािपत Ůित //True Copy// उप/सहायक पंजीकार /(Dy./Asstt. Registrar) आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण, कोचीन / ITAT, Cochin Printed from counselvise.com "