Neeta Sunil Gode Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
₹97.9L u/s 69 Addition Reopened – Portal Date vs Notice Date: ITAT Orders Fresh Hearing on Legality of Reassessment Notice
Assessee filed return declaring income of ₹9,64,710/-. During search on Shri Renuka Mata Multi State Urban Co-operative Credit Society Ltd., huge unexplained cash deposits were detected. Assessment records showed Assessee had deposited ₹97,90,652/- in the Society’s account. Reassessment u/s 147 was initiated by issuing notice u/s 148 dated 31.03.2021. Assessee did not file return in response nor complied with notices u/s 142(1), leading AO to treat the entire deposit as unexplained investment u/s 69.
CIT(A)/NFAC passed an ex-parte order sustaining addition on the basis that no submissions or clarifications were filed, as seen from the reproduced Statement of Facts , which records complete non-compliance during appeal proceedings.
Before Tribunal, Assessee argued that (i) AO failed to supply reasons for reopening despite request; (ii) notice u/s 148, though dated 31.03.2021, reflected on portal as 01.04.2021, rendering reassessment invalid; (iii) as per Pune ITAT in Abdulwahid Abdulkarim Qureshi and Allahabad HC in Daujee Abhushan Bhandar, issuance of notice after 31.03.2021 requires mandatory compliance with s.148A, failing which proceedings are void.
Revenue submitted that notice was dispatched on 31.03.2021 at 6.35 pm both by email and post & that non-compliance compelled best-judgment assessment.
