Brajesh Singh Bhadoria Vs D/ACIT (ITAT Raipur)
In a significant ruling, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Raipur Bench, has set aside a series of ex-parte orders issued by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] against assessee Brajesh Singh Bhadoria for assessment years 2012-13 to 2018-19. The Tribunal, emphasizing the fundamental principles of natural justice, has remanded the cases back to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication on merits, granting the assessee a final opportunity to present their case.
The appeals stemmed from a common set of facts and issues. The assessee, Mr. Bhadoria, had raised a crucial legal ground concerning the validity of the final assessment orders passed under Section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The core of the legal challenge revolved around an alleged discrepancy between the draft assessment order, for which approval was obtained under Section 153D from the Addl. CIT, and the final assessment order. According to the assessee’s counsel, the draft order lacked a detailed table outlining the year-wise quantum of additions, a feature that was subsequently inserted into the final assessment order without a fresh approval from the competent authority.
During the hearing, the Assessing Officer (AO) submitted comments acknowledging that while the draft assessment order (dated September 27, 2021) did not explicitly contain a table of year-wise additions, the Range Head had directed its insertion after discussions with the then AO. The AO’s comments further asserted that the quantum of additions for the relevant assessment years remained consistent between both the draft and final orders, implying no substantive mismatch.
