Indrajeet Suresh Magar Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
Assessee, an NRI residing in Australia, sold property on 12.04.2018 but was assessed for A.Y. 2018-19 on a sale value of ₹74 lakh u/s 147 r.w.s. 144B, treating it as unexplained sale of immovable property. CIT(A)/ NFAC dismissed the appeal ex parte for non-prosecution, citing repeated non-compliance & applying B.N. Bhattacharjee (118 ITR 461, SC).
Before ITAT, the Assessee explained that non-appearance was not deliberate, as he was abroad & could not access records during the pandemic. On merits, he argued that the sale took place in April 2018, which falls in A.Y. 2019-20, not 2018-19, & that his share was only 50%, requiring proportionate taxation with due indexation & TDS credit.
ITAT found merit in the plea that the appeal was dismissed without examining merits & that the assessment year issue required factual verification. Holding that natural justice demanded a fresh opportunity, the Tribunal set aside CIT(A)’s order & remanded the matter to AO for fresh adjudication after giving due hearing.
Held: Ex-parte dismissal without merit review improper; assessment year & capital gain computation to be re-examined; matter remanded to AO for de-novo consideration.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT PUNE
