Santosh Tukaram Varade Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Pune addressed appeals filed by Santosh Tukaram Varade concerning assessment years 2013-14 and 2017-18. The core issue revolved around income additions made by the Assessing Officer (AO) based on discrepancies between declared income and bank account transactions. For the 2013-14 assessment, the AO applied an 8% profit rate to gross receipts, resulting in an addition of Rs. 27,97,934. For 2017-18, the AO added the entire bank credit of Rs. 2,86,93,336 as unexplained money. The assessee, a commission agent for agricultural produce, argued that his income was consistently accepted in assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17, despite similar bank transactions. However, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] dismissed both appeals for non-prosecution, without addressing the merits of the case. The ITAT emphasized that the CIT(A) is obligated to decide appeals on merit, even in ex parte situations, citing a precedent from the Bombay High Court. Consequently, the ITAT remitted the cases back to the CIT(A) for a fresh adjudication, directing a thorough examination of the facts, including the assessment orders for 2014-15 to 2016-17. The assessee was instructed to cooperate and avoid unnecessary adjournments, with the CIT(A) authorized to proceed as per law if compliance was lacking.
