Appellate power to entertain a fresh deduction claim led to remand for de novo assessment and hearing.

A deduction claim under section 54F was rejected in an assessment framed under section 144 because no revised return was filed and supporting evidence was not produced. The appellate forum noted that Goetze India Ltd. does not limit the jurisdiction of appellate authorities to entertain a new claim, and also considered that faceless assessment procedures may have caused communication gaps affecting evidence submission. In these circumstances, the matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer for de novo adjudication with an opportunity of hearing, resulting in partial relief to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's appeal deserved to be restored to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication, notwithstanding the rejection of the deduction claim for want of a revised return and supporting evidence.

Analysis: The assessment had been framed under section 144 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the deduction claim under section 54F had been disallowed on the ground that no revised return had been filed. The appellate record also showed an adverse remand report for want of supporting evidence. The appellate forum noted that the restriction in Goetze India Ltd. did not curtail the appellate authorities' jurisdiction to entertain a new claim, and considered that the faceless procedure could have led to communication gaps affecting production of evidence. In these circumstances, a fresh adjudication by the Assessing Officer was considered appropriate.

Conclusion: The matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer for de novo consideration with an opportunity of hearing, and the assessee obtained only partial relief.

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