Golden Liquor Agencies Vs DCIT (ITAT Mumbai)
Technical glitch & wrong email justify non-appearance; Email linked to ex-employee causes non-compliance- ITAT orders fresh hearing
CIT(A) dismissed Assessee’s appeal ex parte due to non-response in faceless proceedings. Assessee explained that non-compliance was unintentional as the registered email ID belonged to an ex-employee who had left without informing about notices received. Assessee contended that lack of technical proficiency prevented him from responding & that he had no knowledge of notices sent by NFAC. Accordingly Assessee sought an opportunity to present case on merits.
ITAT found reasonable cause for non-appearance before CIT(A). Without going into merits, ITAT restored matter to CIT(A) for fresh adjudication after giving Assessee one more opportunity directing assessee to cooperate & avoid frivolous adjournments. Tribunal clarified that restoration should not be construed as any view on merits.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
The present appeal has been filed by the assessee challenging the impugned order dt. 27.02.2025 passed under section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’), by the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) / CIT(A) for the assessment year 2018-19.
2. At the very outset, we noticed that assessee was ex-parte before Ld. CIT(A). In this regard Ld. AR explained the circumstances before the bench which prevented the assessee to represent properly before Ld. CIT(A) and in this regard the assessee had filed a letter mentioning the reasons, which is reproduced herein below:
I, Dinesh Gobindram Tahiliani, aged 66 years, partner in M/s. Golden Liquor Agencies, having address at 14 Sitaram Mills Compound, JIVraj Boricha Marg Lower Parel, Mumbai 400011, do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under:
That we are the appellant in the afore mentioned appeal and am well acquainted with the facts of the case.
That the Assessing Officer passed an assessment order u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 143(3A)-&-143(3B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 06.04.2021 against me.
2. Proceedings Before CIT(A):
That I subsequently filed an appeal before the Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)) against the said order of the However, these proceedings before the CIT(A) were 21.04.2021. conducted in a faceless manner.
3. Technological Challenges:
A lack of technical proficiency severely hindered my ability to navigate and respond to the electronic communications and emails received from the Department during the faceless proceedings.
4. EMAIL ID of ex-employee:
That during the period when the notices from the NFAC were sent, the Email ID registered on the portal was related to an ex-employee and she left the job and never intimated us about any notices issued to us which were received by her on her personal email address.
5. Non-Compliance with Notices:
That due to the aforementioned reasons, I inadvertently missed the emails and notices sent by the Ld. A. STCA)
That my failure to respond to the notices was not intentional but rather due to genuine difficulties faced during this period.
6. CIT(A) Order:
That the CIT(A) passed an order dated 27.02.2025, dismissing my appeal due to no response filed by me before him.
7. Appeal Before ITAT:
That against the said order of the CIT(A), I have preferred an appeal before the Hon’ble Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai.
That this appeal was filed in good faith, seeking a fair opportunity to present my case and address the issues raised in the original assessment order.
8. Genuine Reasons for Non-Compliance:
That the failure to reply to the notices issued by the NFAC was due to genuine reasons beyond my control, as detailed above and also not aware of the notices issued to me by NFAC.
That my lack of technological knowledge and non access to the ex-employee’s email ID, contributed to the non-compliance. As I have no intention for not responding to notices.
9. Commitment to Future Compliance:
That I humbly request the Hon’ble Tribunal to consider the aforementioned reasons and grant me an opportunity to present my case in a fair manner.
I respectfully pray that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to allow the appeal to be heard on merits.
I declare that the contents of this affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
3. On the other hand DR relied upon the orders passed by the revenue authorities.
