Vijay Kumar Sharma Vs ITO (ITAT Ranchi)
In a recent order, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Ranchi Bench has set aside an ex parte order passed by the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) (functioning as the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) or CIT(A)) concerning the assessment of Mr. Vijay Kumar Sharma for the Assessment Year 2017-18. The Tribunal remitted the case back to the CIT(A) for a fresh decision, granting the taxpayer another opportunity to present his case on merit, despite previous instances of non-compliance with notices from the tax authorities.
The matter before the ITAT stemmed from the assessment of Mr. Vijay Kumar Sharma’s income for the financial year 2016-17, corresponding to Assessment Year 2017-18. The original assessment was completed by the Assessing Officer (AO) on October 17, 2019, under the provisions of Section 143(3) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961. During this assessment, the AO made an addition to Mr. Sharma’s income under Section 69A of the Act. This section deals with unexplained money, bullion, jewellery, or other valuable articles, providing that if the assessee is found to be the owner of such assets not recorded in the books of account and offers no satisfactory explanation about the source, the value may be deemed to be the income of the assessee. The details and grounds for this specific addition were not elaborated in the ITAT’s order, but it formed the basis of the subsequent appeal.
