Patels Golf Links Residencial Welfare Association Vs ITO (ITAT Hyderabad)
Ex-Parte CIT(A) Order Set Aside—Notices Sent to Wrong Email ID; Matter Remanded for Fresh Verification of TDS Disallowance
The Assessee, a residential welfare association registered under the A.P. Societies Registration Act, appealed against the NFAC order dated 24.04.2025. The CIT(A) dismissed the appeal ex-parte, citing repeated non-compliance. The Assessee challenged the dismissal contending that no notice was ever received, because the CIT(A) sent all communications to an incorrect email ID—“[email protected]” instead of the correct “[email protected]”. This mismatch was demonstrated before the Tribunal with copies of notices downloaded from the ITBA portal.
AO had made a disallowance of ₹7,37,812 by treating 30% of expenses as inadmissible u/s 40(a)(ia) for alleged TDS default, and applied maximum marginal rate for taxation. CIT(A) upheld the order purely for non-prosecution.
Tribunal examined the record and found that the email ID used by CIT(A) did not match the email ID furnished in Form-35, resulting in complete non-communication of notices. Therefore, the finding of “deliberate non-compliance” was unsustainable. Since the Assessee also intended to file additional evidence regarding TDS deduction and relevant expense records, Tribunal held that one more opportunity must be given.
Accordingly, Tribunal set aside the ex-parte order of CIT(A) and restored the matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication. AO was directed to verify the evidence to be filed by the Assessee and pass a speaking order after granting proper opportunity of hearing.
The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT HYDERABAD
