Roshan A Kudalkar Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Pune ruled in favor of the deceased assessee, Roshan A Kudalkar, in an appeal against an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) – National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) for Assessment Year 2015-16. The key dispute revolved around an addition of ₹28,57,681 made by the Assessing Officer (AO) based on a perceived discrepancy in closing stock. The tribunal found that the AO had merely calculated the difference between the closing stock of two assessment years without properly considering the assessee’s audited books of accounts and financial records.
The tribunal noted that Kudalkar had run a petrol pump, and his stock was regularly monitored by the public sector company supplying fuel. The AO’s reliance on a variation in reported closing stock without any examination of sales, purchases, or audit reports was found to be arbitrary. Further, the AO had failed to cite any specific provision of the Income Tax Act under which the addition was made. ITAT Pune concluded that the assessment was not based on a valid legal footing, leading to the deletion of the addition.
A crucial aspect of the case was the delay in filing the appeal before the CIT(A)-NFAC, which was rejected without considering the reason for the delay. The assessee had been severely ill before his demise in 2021, which was cited as a valid reason for the 44-day delay. ITAT Pune held that procedural fairness required the CIT(A)-NFAC to consider this aspect before dismissing the appeal outright.
