Tribunal allows appeal delay, criticizes tax authorities for hasty decisions.

The Tribunal condoned the delay in filing the appeal due to sufficient cause shown by the assessee. It was found that the Assessing Officer and the ld. CIT(A) had not properly considered the issues on their merits, making ad-hoc additions and disallowances without proper reference to available material. The Tribunal emphasized the need for judicious consideration in best judgment assessments and deleted an incorrect addition made for expenses already recorded in the books. In the interest of natural justice, the assessment was set aside for fresh adjudication by the Assessing Officer, with a directive for the assessee to cooperate in the proceedings.

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Issues: Delay in filing appeal, assessment of total income, additions/disallowances made, best judgment assessment, expenses recorded in books, natural justice, setting aside assessment for fresh adjudication, cooperation in assessment proceedings.

In this case, the primary issue was the delay of 83 days in filing the appeal, for which the assessee sought condonation. The Tribunal, after being convinced that there was a sufficient cause for the delay, condoned the delay and admitted the appeal. Moving on to the assessment of total income, it was noted that the Assessing Officer had determined the total income at Rs. 5,84,528, making significant additions due to the assessee's alleged non-cooperation, as postal notices were returned undelivered. The ld. CIT(A) also passed an ex-parte order in this regard.

Upon detailed examination, it was found that both the Assessing Officer and the ld. CIT(A) had not properly considered the issues on their merits. The additions and disallowances were made on an ad-hoc basis without proper reference to the available material on record. The Tribunal emphasized the principle that even in a best judgment assessment, there should be judicious consideration. Specifically, an addition made under section 69 of the Act for expenses already recorded in the books was deemed incorrect in law, warranting its deletion. The assessee successfully demonstrated sufficient cause for their non-appearance before the lower authorities on the relevant dates.

Consequently, in the interest of natural justice, the Tribunal decided to set aside the assessment and remand it back to the Assessing Officer for a fresh adjudication in accordance with the law. The appeal of the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes, with a directive for the assessee to cooperate in the assessment proceedings. The judgment was delivered on the 8th day of November 2017 in Kolkata.

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