Heggur Nanjundappa Vishwanath Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
In the case of Heggur Nanjundappa Vishwanath Vs The Income Tax Officer, Circle – 7(1)(1), Bengaluru, ITAT Bangalore sets aside CIT(A) ex-parte order on the grounds that assessee was not given a fair chance of being heard during the appellate proceedings before CIT(A). The assessee had made specific request in Form-35 that communication should not be made through mail. Assessee submitted that he is a senior citizen, is not tech-savvy and was unaware about the notices sent to his email. Despite the specific request made, all notices and hearing details were exclusively sent via email. These procedural lapses raised concerns about whether assessee was given a fair chance to represent his case. Natural justice demands that every taxpayer should be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard, which, in this case, appears to have been denied.
This led to an ex-parte order being passed against him. It was held that appellate order suffers from procedural irregularities. Further assessee’s age, financial difficulties and family issues added weight to his claim. The matter was referred back AO for fresh adjudication. The assessee was also directed to fully cooperate with the AO and ensure timely compliance. The Appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT BANGALORE
