2021 (10) TMI 602 - AT - Income Tax

ITAT Delhi grants appeal for electronic filing by legal heir, emphasizing right to be heard

Shri Anoop Kumar Bishnoi Versus The Income Tax Officer, Ward-28 (1), New Delhi

The ITAT Delhi allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, directing the CIT(A) to grant the appellant an opportunity to file the appeal electronically ... Non Filling of E-appeal - Maintainability of appeal in the name of a dead person - CIT(A) dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee on the ground that the same was filed manually instead of electronically and further the appeal has been filed by quoting the PAN of Shri Bhupendra Kumar Bishnoi who was not alive at the time of filing of appeal and, therefore, the appeal in the name of a dead person is not maintainable - HELD THAT:- We deem it proper to restore the issue to the file of the CIT(A) with a direction to grant one more opportunity to the assessee to file the appeal electronically by the Legal-Heir of the deceased person. CIT(A) shall condone the delay, if any, and admit the appeal and decide the issue on merit, after giving due opportunity of being heard to the assessee - we hold and direct accordingly. Grounds raised by the Assessee are allowed for statistical purposes Issues:1. Maintainability of the appeal filed manually instead of electronically.2. Validity of filing the appeal in the name of a deceased person.3. Denial of natural justice by the CIT(A).4. Legality of notice issued under section 148.5. Validity of assessment made in the name of the legal heir.6. Legality of the assessment order.7. Addition of unexplained cash deposit in the assessment.Issue 1: Maintainability of Manual Appeal:The appeal was dismissed by the CIT(A) citing the manual filing of the appeal instead of electronically as required post an amendment. The CIT(A) held that the manual appeal was not valid under Rule 45 of the IT Act. The appeal was also filed using the PAN of a deceased person, which was deemed not maintainable due to jurisdictional defects.Issue 2: Filing Appeal in the Name of Deceased Person:The CIT(A) rejected the appeal on the grounds of being filed in the name of a deceased person, highlighting that it should have been filed by citing the PAN of the legal heir. The appeal filed using the PAN of the deceased caused a notice to be generated in the name of the dead person, indicating a failure to deactivate the PAN of the deceased by the legal heir.Issue 3: Denial of Natural Justice:The CIT(A) was criticized for not allowing reasonable time to rectify the appeal filing and for dismissing the appeal without considering the application made to accept a hard copy in place of online filing. The appellant argued that the CIT(A) erred in not allowing submissions to rectify the appeal's technical defects.Issue 4: Legality of Notice under Section 148:The appellant challenged the legality of the notice issued under section 148, alleging that it was issued without proper application of mind and verification of records. The notice was directed to a deceased person, and the appellant contended that the assessment made in the name of the legal heir was invalid due to the absence of a notice issued to the assessed person.Issue 5: Validity of Assessment in Legal Heir's Name:The appellant argued that the assessment made in the name of the legal heir was illegal as no notice under section 148 was issued to the assessed person. The jurisdiction to assess the legal heir under section 147 was deemed missing, and the appellant contended that the assessment order was based on an erroneous foundation.Issue 6: Legality of Assessment Order:The appellant challenged the assessment order, arguing that the addition of unexplained cash deposit was made without reference to any specific section. The appellant contended that the addition under section 68 was not maintainable as the Savings Bank Account did not represent the books of accounts maintained by the assessee.In conclusion, the ITAT Delhi allowed the appeal for statistical purposes, directing the CIT(A) to grant the appellant an opportunity to file the appeal electronically by the legal heir of the deceased person. The ITAT emphasized giving the appellant a chance to be heard and decided on the merits of the case.