Abdul Hamid Nachar Vs ITO (ITAT Amritsar)
Abdul Hamid Nachar was an individual facing appeals related to three different assessment years (2016-17, 2018-19, and 2019-20). He had failed to file income tax returns for any of these years despite making substantial cash deposits totaling over ₹7 crore across various bank accounts. The Assessing Officer (AO) completed ex-parte assessments for all three years, determining a total income of ₹3.23 crore for AY 2016-17, ₹1.94 crore for AY 2018-19, and ₹2.74 crore for AY 2019-20.
The first appellate authority, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], dismissed the appeals without considering their merits. The dismissal was based on Section 249(4)(b) of the Income Tax Act, which states that an appeal cannot be admitted if the assessee has not filed a return of income and has not paid the advance tax due. Abdul Hamid Nachar had neither filed the returns nor paid the required advance taxes. He also had not filed an application to seek an exemption from the pre-payment requirement. The assessee subsequently filed an appeal with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), arguing that he was not liable to pay advance tax because his business profits were minimal, resulting in no tax liability.
