Endurance Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd. Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
In a recent directive, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Pune Bench, has instructed the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] / National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi, to condone a 55-day delay in an appeal filed by Endurance Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd. The appeal concerns the assessment year 2020-21 and relates to a disputed deduction claim of Rs. 37.46 lakh under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which was disallowed by the Assessing Officer in an ex-parte assessment.
The case originated when Endurance Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd. filed its return of income for the assessment year 2020-21 on January 7, 2021, declaring a total income of Rs. Nil. The company had claimed a deduction of Rs. 37,46,860/- under Section 80P of the Act.
Subsequently, the case was selected for scrutiny under the Computer Assisted Scrutiny Selection (CASS) system. The Assessing Officer (AO) issued statutory notices under Section 143(2) and Section 142(1) of the Act to the assessee. However, according to the ITAT’s order, the assessee did not respond to these notices.
In the absence of a response from the assessee, the Assessing Officer proceeded to complete the assessment proceedings ex-parte under Section 144 of the Act. In this ex-parte assessment order, the Assessing Officer made an addition of the entire claimed deduction amount of Rs. 37,46,860/-, effectively disallowing the Section 80P deduction.
