Pujya Sindhi Panchayat Trust Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
Three Notices on One Day Do Not Become Three Effective Hearings: ₹43 Lakh Penalty Appeal Sent Back by Mumbai ITAT
Summary; When an appellate order says that an assessee was given “several opportunities”, the number of notices alone may not tell the full story. The dates of those notices and the time actually available to respond also matter. The Mumbai ITAT examined this distinction in the penalty appeal of Pujya Sindhi Panchayat Trust, where three notices bearing different DINs were issued on the same day, followed by a final opportunity one day before the CIT(A) passed the order.
The case concerned a penalty of ₹43,04,674 under section 270A for alleged misreporting of income. The Tribunal has not deleted the penalty. It has set aside the first appellate order and sent the appeal back to the CIT(A) so that the trust can have a reasonable and effective opportunity to present its case.
From Assessment Addition to Misreporting Penalty
The trust filed its return for AY 2018-19 declaring a total income of ₹10,57,163. The AO completed the assessment under section 143(3) on 9 March 2021, determining total income at ₹67,25,136 after making an addition of ₹56,67,973. Penalty proceedings under section 270A followed, and the AO passed an order on 18 March 2025 levying ₹43,04,674 on account of alleged misreporting of income.
