Shiv Prasad Ram Vs ITO (ITAT Ranchi)
The case of Shiv Prasad Ram vs. ITO (ITAT Ranchi) deals with an appeal filed by a retired Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) employee against an ex parte tax assessment for the assessment year 2015-16. Upon retirement in 2014, the assessee, Shiv Prasad Ram, received a total of ₹ 27,79,943 as retirement benefits. The Assessing Officer (AO) reopened the case after learning that no income tax return had been filed. The AO also received information about a time deposit of ₹ 39,91,000 in the assessee’s name at Bank of Baroda, Ranchi.
The assessee argued that the time deposit did not belong to him and that the assessment was completed ex parte without granting him an opportunity to present his case. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) noted that the assessment order was indeed ex parte. It also acknowledged the Assessing Officer’s remand report, which stated that the Bank of Baroda had not responded to inquiries regarding the disputed time deposit.
In the interest of justice, the ITAT restored the case to the Assessing Officer for readjudication, directing that the assessee be given a proper opportunity to be heard. The Tribunal also issued a directive for the AO to attach and recover any potential tax demand from the time deposit in the event the bank fails to respond, as the amount is still linked to the assessee’s name in official records. The appeal was partly allowed for statistical purposes, as a final decision was not rendered and the case was sent back to a lower authority.
