Hitech Poultry Feeds Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
Improper notice delivery & inadequate response time deemed as denial of opportunity: ITAT Bangalore
AO issued a notice u/s 271B to a mail ID not related to the assessee. Assessee acknowledged the proceedings only when AO informed him. AO further passed a penalty order u/s 271B.
Assessee filed an appeal before the CIT against the said penalty order. CIT issued a notice which had to be responded within the due date specified in the notice. Without waiting till the office hours on such due date, CIT passed an order on the same day for the reason that the assessee had not responded to the notice. Thus, the assessee is in appeal before ITAT.
Considering the submissions of assessee, ITAT held that AO had not served the notice to the assessee as the mail id was not related to the assessee & also held that authorities ought to have waited upto the office hours of the last day for filing the response, therefore no effective opportunity was granted. Thus, AO’s order as well as the appellate order were passed against the principles of natural justice. ITAT upheld the contentions raised by the assessee. Hence, orders of both the authorities were set aside & the appeal was allowed.
