Brijeshkumar Natvarlal Patel Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Assessee, an NRI settled in the USA since 2001, had purchased an immovable property for ₹66.95 lakh. Since no return was filed, & information showed the property purchase, the AO reopened the case u/s 148. During reassessment, Assessee did not respond to notices, except for one letter stating he was unaware of proceedings & needed time to collect documents from India. AO completed the assessment ex parte, treating the entire investment as unexplained u/s 69A.
Assessee appealed late by 312 days, explaining that he could not travel to India earlier to retrieve documents as he manages a convenience store alone in the USA. However, CIT(A) dismissed the appeal ex parte, without examining the reasons or the merits.
Before ITAT, Assessee submitted that the property was actually paid for in the earlier year, & documents such as purchase deed & bank statements could establish the source. Tribunal noted that Assessee’s explanations about being an NRI & facing genuine difficulty were not disproved by Revenue. It also observed that CIT(A) gave only three opportunities & passed a non-speaking order without adjudicating merits.
Holding that interests of justice require a fresh opportunity, ITAT set aside CIT(A)’s order & restored the matter to AO for fresh assessment after allowing Assessee to produce all relevant documents.
