Savera Construction Co. Vs ACIT (ITAT Mumbai)
Mumbai ITAT Remands Assessment and Penalty Appeals Where Assessee Claimed Income Was Already Offered Under a Different PAN
The Mumbai ITAT set aside the ex parte appellate orders confirming both the quantum addition and the penalty under section 271(1)(c), holding that the assessee’s claim required proper factual verification. The assessment had been reopened on the basis of information that the assessee had sold an immovable property for ₹67.25 lakh, and, in the absence of compliance, the Assessing Officer completed the assessment ex parte by taxing the entire sale consideration as short-term capital gains and subsequently levied penalty for concealment. Before the Tribunal, the assessee contended that the disputed income had already been disclosed in a return filed under a different PAN, as the PAN used for the impugned assessment had earlier been surrendered. Observing that neither the Assessing Officer nor the first appellate authority had examined this crucial contention and that there was no clarity whether a reasonable opportunity of hearing had been granted before disposal of the appeals, the Tribunal restored both the quantum and penalty matters to the file of the first appellate authority for de novo adjudication after providing the assessee with an adequate opportunity to present its case.
