Upashan Debnath ITO (ITAT Kolkata)
In a recent pronouncement, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata Bench, has directed the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] to issue a “speaking order” that addresses the merits of an appeal, rather than dismissing it on technical grounds of non-compliance. The ruling came in the case of Upashan Debnath versus the Income Tax Officer (ITO), where the assessee challenged an ex parte order from the CIT(A) for Assessment Year 2015-16.
The case originated from an individual assessee, Upashan Debnath, who filed an income tax return declaring a total income of ₹2,59,440. This return was processed under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act but was subsequently selected for scrutiny.
During the assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer (AO) identified significant deposits in the assessee’s bank accounts, totaling over ₹1.12 crore across three separate accounts. Given that the total deposits exceeded ₹1 crore, the AO determined that the assessee was liable to maintain books of account under Section 44AB of the Act. Since the assessee had failed to comply with this requirement, the AO treated ₹1.05 crore as gross receipts and applied an 8% presumptive profit rate. This resulted in an estimated profit of ₹8,43,117, leading to a total assessed income of ₹8,81,874, completed under Section 143(3).
