Mir Zardari Qureshi Vs ACIT (ITAT Raipur)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Raipur has quashed an ex-parte assessment order against Mir Zardari Qureshi for the Assessment Year 2013-14. The Tribunal ruled that the initiation of reassessment proceedings by an Income Tax Officer (ITO) who lacked valid jurisdiction over the assessee’s case rendered the subsequent assessment illegal and void.
The assessee had appealed against the order of the CIT(Appeals)-II, Raipur, which had upheld the assessment made under Sections 144/147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, adding back cash deposits of ₹10,74,990 to the assessee’s income.
Case Genesis and Disputed Addition
The case originated from information indicating that Mir Zardari Qureshi had made cash deposits of ₹10,74,990 in his savings bank account during the relevant financial year but had not filed his income tax return. Based on this information, reassessment proceedings were initiated under Section 147 of the Act.
Notice under Section 148 of the Act, dated March 9, 2018, was issued by the ITO, Ward-1(3), Bhilai. As the assessee failed to respond to repeated opportunities to participate in the assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer (AO) passed an ex-parte order under Sections 144/147 on December 7, 2018. The entire cash deposit of ₹10,74,990 was treated as unexplained income, and the assessee’s total income was determined at the same amount.
