ITAT Grants Fresh Hearing to 61-Year-Old Cancer Patient, Sets Aside NFAC Order and Restores Income Tax Case to Assessing Officer:

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has given relief to a 61-year-old woman assessee by setting aside the orders passed by the lower tax authorities and restoring the matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration.

The appeal was filed against the order dated January 16, 2026, passed by the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi, for Assessment Year 2017-18. The case arose from an assessment order dated December 26, 2019, passed under Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, by the Assessing Officer.

During the hearing, it was noted that the assessee had not appeared before the tax authorities at the earlier stages. Her counsel submitted affidavits explaining the circumstances for her non-appearance.

According to the assessee, she is a 61-year-old woman suffering from cancer. She stated that her Chartered Accountant, CA Binit Kumar Agarwal, had provided an email ID and phone number on the income tax portal. However, the relevant communications were allegedly not received by her, and her counsel had also not informed her about the proceedings.

After considering the submissions and the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal decided that the assessee should be given another opportunity to present her case on merits.

The ITAT, therefore, set aside the impugned orders and restored the matter to the Assessing Officer. The AO has been directed to provide the assessee a fresh opportunity of hearing and decide the matter afresh in accordance with law.

The appeal was accordingly allowed for statistical purposes.