Section 249(4)(b) Dismissal Reversed; One Opportunity to Explain Advance-Tax Liability

Bashir Ahmad Rah Vs ITO (ITAT Amritsar) The ITAT, Amritsar Bench held that appeals should not be dismissed in limine u/s 249(4)(b) without granting the assessee an effective opportunity to explain why advance tax was not payable. In this case, the assessee—a poultry businessman—had large bank credits and no returns filed for AYs 2014-15 & 2016-17. The AO completed ex-parte reassessments, treating entire bank credits as income. The CIT(A) dismissed the appeals outright for non-payment of admitted tax, without examining whether the assessee had any advance-tax liability at all. Before th...