Assessee's Appeals Dismissed, Fresh Orders to be Passed on Merits

The appeals filed by the Assessee were dismissed by the Ld. CIT(A) due to the set aside of the assessment order by Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar. The Ld. CIT(A) considered the appeals infructuous without the assessment order and did not adjudicate the disputed issues on merits. Subsequently, the ITAT quashed the order of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar, leading to directions for fresh orders on the issues in dispute. Both parties agreed to set aside the impugned orders of Ld. CIT(A) and pass fresh orders on the merits of the issues in the appeals.

---

---

Issues Involved:
- Dismissal of appeal by Ld. CIT(A) due to set aside of assessment order by Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar
- Alleged invalidity of order passed by CIT(A) for not following CBDT instructions
- Failure to provide reasonable opportunity of hearing before dismissing the appeal
- Quashing of order dated 13.03.2018 of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar by ITAT
- Directions for passing fresh orders on merits of the issues in dispute

Issue 1: Dismissal of appeal by Ld. CIT(A) due to set aside of assessment order by Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar

The Assessee filed ITA No. 2605/Del/2018 and ITA No. 2606/Del/2018 against separate orders dated 30.03.2018 of Ld. CIT(A), Muzaffarnagar. The Ld. CIT(A) dismissed the appeals as the assessment order dated 29.03.2016 was set aside by Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar vide order dated 13.03.2018 under section 263 of the Income Tax Act. The Ld. CIT(A) held that the appeals had become infructuous due to the absence of the assessment order, and therefore, dismissed the appeals without adjudicating the disputed issues on merits. The Assessee subsequently appealed to ITAT, which quashed the order dated 13.03.2018 of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar, leading to the direction for fresh orders on the issues in dispute.

Issue 2: Alleged invalidity of order passed by CIT(A) for not following CBDT instructions

The Assessee contended that the order passed by Ld. CIT(A) was invalid as it did not adhere to CBDT's instruction requiring the order to be passed within 15 days of the last date of hearing. However, this issue was not the primary reason for the dismissal of the appeals by Ld. CIT(A), as the main grounds were the set aside of the assessment order by Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar and subsequent quashing of the same by ITAT.

Issue 3: Failure to provide reasonable opportunity of hearing before dismissing the appeal

The Assessee argued that Ld. CIT(A) failed to provide a reasonable opportunity of hearing before dismissing the appeal, which allegedly vitiated the order passed by CIT(A. However, the primary reason for dismissal was the absence of the assessment order due to the actions of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar, and the subsequent quashing of the order by ITAT.

Issue 4: Quashing of order dated 13.03.2018 of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar by ITAT

ITAT quashed the order dated 13.03.2018 of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar, which had led to the dismissal of the appeals by Ld. CIT(A) due to the absence of the assessment order. The quashing of this order by ITAT necessitated the setting aside of the impugned orders of Ld. CIT(A) and the direction to pass fresh orders on the merits of the issues in dispute in the appeals filed by the Assessee.

Issue 5: Directions for passing fresh orders on merits of the issues in dispute

Following the quashing of the order dated 13.03.2018 of Pr. CIT Muzaffarnagar by ITAT, both sides agreed that the impugned orders of Ld. CIT(A) should be set aside with the direction to pass fresh orders on the issues in dispute. Consequently, the appeals of the Assessee were partly allowed for statistical purposes, and fresh orders were to be passed by Ld. CIT(A) on the merits of the issues in the appeals.

---