Vicky Agro Food Products & Suppliers Pvt. Ltd. Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
Technical Dismissal by CIT(A) Set Aside – Appeal to Be Decided on Merits, Not Procedural Lapses
In this case, AO made substantial additions of Rs 1.70 Cr towards share capital & premium, unsecured loan & alleged unexplained investment u/s 68 & 69. However, CIT(A) did not examine the merits at all & dismissed the appeal as infructuous on the ground that Form 35 was incomplete (no grounds of appeal / statement of facts on record).
Before ITAT, the assessee demonstrated that:
- Appeal was originally filed with complete documents before jurisdictional CIT(A)
- Matter later migrated to NFAC, where records were not properly available
- Earlier notices never pointed out any defect
- Only at a late stage, deficiency was raised without granting effective opportunity
ITAT made important observations:
- Faceless system lapses cannot prejudice assessee – record transfer failure is a departmental issue
- No proper opportunity given to cure defect – violation of natural justice
- CIT(A) failed to comply with sec 250(6) – no speaking order on merits
- Substantive justice prevails over procedural technicalities
Accordingly, ITAT held that dismissal of appeal purely on technical ground is unsustainable
Order of CIT(A) was set aside & matter restored for fresh adjudication on merits, with direction to assessee to furnish necessary documents
Key takeaway:
Appeals cannot be thrown out for technical defects, especially in faceless regime – authorities must decide on merits after giving proper opportunity
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
