2017 (8) TMI 1461 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal remits appeal, cites section 50C(2) for de novo adjudication. Assessee's rights protected.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal, remitting the matter to the Assessing Officer for adjudication de novo after referring the issue to the DVO under section ... Reference being not made to the DVO u/s 50C - computation of capital gains - Held that:- As held by Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in the case of Sunil Kumar Agarwal vs. CIT [2014 (6) TMI 13 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURT], even in the absence of specific request from the assessee, the Assessing Officer has to give an option to the assessee to follow the course provided by law under section 50C(2). Therefore, uphold the grievance of the assessee, and remit the matter to the file of the Assessing Officer for adjudication de novo after referring the matter to the DVO under section 50C(2) - Appeal allowed for statistical purposes. Issues involved:Challenge to correctness of order adding income under section 50C of the Income Tax Act, 1961Analysis:The appellant challenged the order adding income under section 50C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The appellant argued that the lower authorities erred in law and on facts by confirming the action of the Assessing Officer (AO) in adding a specific amount to the total income. The appellant contended that various submissions and information were ignored, breaching the Principles of Natural Justice. The Tribunal noted that a similar issue was decided in a different case, where it was held that the AO must give an option to the assessee to follow the course provided by law under section 50C(2), even in the absence of a specific request from the assessee. The Tribunal upheld the plea of the assessee and remitted the matter to the file of the Assessing Officer for adjudication de novo after referring the matter to the DVO under section 50C(2).The Tribunal emphasized that the law is well settled that the AO must provide the option to the assessee to follow the course under section 50C(2), irrespective of a specific request from the assessee. Citing a decision by the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court, the Tribunal upheld the plea of the assessee and directed the matter to be referred to the DVO under section 50C(2) for adjudication de novo. The Tribunal followed its previous decision in a similar case and allowed the issue raised by the assessee in this appeal for statistical purposes.In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the appeal for statistical purposes based on the established legal principles regarding the application of section 50C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer for adjudication de novo after referring the issue to the DVO under section 50C(2), in line with the legal requirements and precedents cited during the proceedings.