Jainam Builders Vs ITO (ITAT Raipur)
One-Day Time for Compliance Is Unreasonable: Assessment Set Aside for Fresh Adjudication
The Raipur Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that an assessment completed after granting an unreasonably short time for compliance violates the principles of natural justice. In this case for AY 2018-19, the Assessing Officer issued a notice under section 142(1) dated 28.03.2024, seeking compliance by 30.03.2024 at 10:51 AM, which effectively left the assessee with only one clear day to compile and upload accounts and supporting documents.
The Tribunal rejected the Revenue’s argument that in the digital era such compliance could be done “within minutes”, observing that collection, compilation, and uploading of year-long records within one day is beyond normal human probabilities. Relying on the Patna High Court decision in St. Paul’s Anglo Indian Education Society, the ITAT reiterated that an adjudication made without providing reasonable time and opportunity is unjustified in law.
The ITAT further noted that the assessee had filed all relevant documents before the CIT(A)/NFAC, and there was no material to suggest deliberate non-compliance before the AO. Since the assessee was prevented by lack of reasonable time, the documents could not be treated as impermissible additional evidence.
Accordingly, the Tribunal set aside the orders of the lower authorities and remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer for de-novo adjudication, directing that all documents already on record be examined and a reasoned order be passed after granting proper opportunity of hearing. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT RAIPUR
