ITAT Grants Fresh Hearing After Finding CIT(A) Notices Were Sent to Incorrect Email:

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi Bench 'F', has given relief to taxpayer Brij Bala Bartwal by setting aside an ex-parte order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for the Assessment Year 2016-17. The Tribunal directed the CIT(A) to hear the case afresh after providing the taxpayer with a fair opportunity to present her case.

The appeal before ITAT was delayed by 67 days. Having heard the reasons offered by the taxpayer for the delay, the Tribunal felt the delay to be genuine and not intentional. It therefore approved the delay and admitted the appeal for hearing on merits.

Counsel for the taxpayer argued during the hearing that CIT(A) sent all hearing notices to the wrong e-mail address. While the notices were issued to [email protected], the taxpayer had mentioned [email protected] as the official email address in Form No. 35. As a result, the taxpayer never received the notices and was unaware of the appellate proceedings.

The taxpayer further submitted that she has a strong case on merits and that, if given an opportunity to explain the facts before the CIT(A), the disputed addition could be deleted.

The Income Tax Department, however, supported the order passed by the CIT(A.) and requested the Tribunal to uphold it.

After considering the submissions of both sides, the Tribunal observed that the CIT(A) had dismissed the appeal both for non-prosecution and on merits without the taxpayer's participation. The Bench accepted the explanation that the taxpayer could not appear because the notices had been sent to an incorrect email address.

Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of natural justice, the matter was restored to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication. The appellate authority was directed to give a reasonable opportunity to the taxpayer to put forth her case before passing a fresh order.

The Tribunal specifically directed the CIT(A) to issue subsequent notices on the email address mentioned in Form No. 35 i.e. [email protected]. It also instructed the taxpayer to reply to the notices promptly on receipt.

Therefore, the ITAT set aside the ex parte order of the CIT(A) and allowed the appeal of the assessee for statistical purposes by remanding the case back for fresh consideration.