Ashish Daulatrm Sariya Vs NFAC (ITAT Indore)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Indore, adjudicated an appeal filed by the assessee against an order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) for Assessment Year 2012–13. The dispute concerned a penalty of ₹20,000 imposed under Section 271(1)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for non-compliance with statutory notices issued during assessment proceedings.
The case originated from reassessment proceedings under Sections 147 and 144, where the Assessing Officer (AO) determined that income had escaped assessment based on information regarding cash deposits aggregating to ₹11,17,844 in the assessee’s savings bank account. The AO issued multiple notices, including those under Section 142(1), providing opportunities for the assessee to furnish explanations. Despite notices dated 18.07.2019, 21.10.2019, and a final notice dated 17.11.2019, the assessee did not comply or provide the required information. Consequently, the assessment was completed ex parte under Section 144.
Subsequently, penalty proceedings under Section 271(1)(b) were initiated for failure to comply with notices. A penalty of ₹20,000 was imposed for non-compliance with notices dated 18.07.2019 and 17.11.2019. The assessee challenged this penalty before the CIT(A), which dismissed the appeal, holding that the assessee had clearly failed to respond to the notices during assessment proceedings.
