Pramod Manikchand Dugad Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
In a significant ruling concerning taxpayer rights in faceless assessment proceedings, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Pune, has quashed a tax assessment order due to a procedural violation. The case, Pramod Manikchand Dugad vs. ITO, revolved around the Assessing Officer’s (AO) failure to provide the taxpayer with a mandatory four-week window after disposing of their objections.
The dispute arose after the assessee’s case for the Assessment Year 2017-18 was reopened based on information about alleged cash deposits. The assessee filed a letter objecting to the reopening, as is their right. The Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO) disposed of these objections on March 16, 2022. However, the FAO proceeded to conclude the assessment proceedings just eight days later, on March 24, 2022.
The assessee argued before the ITAT that this rapid conclusion was a fundamental legal flaw. Their counsel cited a key judicial precedent from the Bombay High Court in the case of Asian Paint Ltd. vs. DCIT. The Bombay High Court’s ruling explicitly held that if an Assessing Officer rejects a taxpayer’s objections to reopening, they are required to refrain from proceeding with the assessment for a period of four weeks from the date the order on objections is served on the assessee. This waiting period is intended to allow the taxpayer a chance to seek further legal remedy.
