Case Law Details
Sad Bhawna Trust Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
In terms of the section 142(1), the Assessing Officer called for certain information for completion of the assessment proceeding in the case of the assessee, but the assessee had not provided those information and continued to object the initiation of the proceeding in the case of the assessee. This conduct of the assessee led to completion of the assessment proceeding ex parte. In assessment proceedings, the role of the Assessing Officer is both of the investigator and adjudicator. If the assessee obstruct and create hurdles in the investigation process of the Assessing Officer, true and complete facts may not be available for adjudication and the adjudication would be on incomplete facts. Not only the assessee stopped the Assessing Officer for examining the issue in dispute judiciously in assessment proceeding but also filed wrong information before the Ld. CIT(A) claiming that it had complied notices issued by the Assessing Officer. The Ld. CIT(A) has pointed out one such instance of letter dated 18/02/2015 and observed that said letter bears no proof of submission before the Assessing Officer and appears to be an afterthought and crafted especially to wriggle out the penalty levied on it for non-compliance of notice under section 142(1) of the Act. Before us, the assessee has not represented and not rebutted this misconduct on the part of the assessee. The assessee has not made out a case of any reasonable cause for failure in furnishing the information before the Assessing Officer. In view of the facts and circumstance we are of the view that A.O. has rightly levied penalty u/s 271(1 )(b) for non-furnishing of the information called for u/s 142(1)
FULL TEXT OF THE ITAT JUDGEMENT
The captioned appeals by the assessee are directed against separate orders dated 09/01/2017 for assessment years 2007- 08; 2008-09; 2009-10; 2010-11; 2011-12; 2012-13 and 2013-14 passed by the Ld. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-24, New Delhi in relation to penalty levied by the Assessing Officer for not complying notices issued. A common issue of dispute is involved in all the appeals in identical set of facts, and thus all these appeals have been heard together and dispose off by way of this consolidated order.
2. The grounds of appeal raised in all the appeals are identical and thus, for brevity, grounds of appeal in ITA No. 1482/del/2017 for assessment year 2007-08 are reproduced as under:
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