Assessee's Appeal Allowed Due to Lack of Hearing Opportunity

The Tribunal found that the assessee was not given proper opportunity of hearing by the authorities during the assessment and appellate proceedings due to incorrect address details. As a result, the Tribunal set aside the lower authorities' orders and remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer for a fresh assessment, emphasizing the importance of a fair hearing for the assessee. The assessee was directed to cooperate for the expeditious completion of the fresh assessment. Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was treated as allowed for statistical purposes, resulting in a favorable outcome for the assessee.

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Issues:
1. Proper opportunity of hearing not given to the assessee by the Assessing Officer and the CIT(Appeals).

Analysis:
The appeal before the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Kolkata was filed by the assessee against the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-3, Kolkata, which dismissed the appeal of the assessee for non-prosecution. The assessee, a Company engaged in trading and investment in shares, had filed a return declaring a loss. The assessment was reopened by the Assessing Officer under section 147/143(3) to investigate the share capital introduced by the assessee. Despite notices issued by the Assessing Officer and the CIT(Appeals), the assessee failed to comply, leading to an ex-parte assessment under section 144/263/147/143(3) where the share capital was treated as unexplained and added to the total income under section 68.

Upon hearing arguments from both sides, the Tribunal found merit in the contention that the assessee did not receive notices due to incorrect address details. The Tribunal noted that proper and sufficient opportunity of hearing was not provided to the assessee by the authorities during the assessment and appellate proceedings. The Tribunal decided to set aside the orders of the lower authorities and remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer for a fresh assessment, emphasizing the importance of providing the assessee with a fair hearing. The assessee was directed to cooperate with the Assessing Officer for the expeditious completion of the fresh assessment.

Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was treated as allowed for statistical purposes, indicating a favorable outcome for the assessee. The order was pronounced in the open court on April 16, 2021.

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