Non technical procedural non compliance in a faceless assessment...

Non technical procedural non compliance in a faceless assessment regime was held insufficient to sustain an ex parte dismissal where the assessee offered a plausible explanation of limited literacy and unfamiliarity with electronic notices; the Tribunal treated substantive right to be heard and substantial justice as prevailing over mere technical default and found the appellate order procedurally defective for not permitting final production of loan sanction letters, bank certificates and interest certificates. The appellate order was set aside and the matter remitted to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication with directed verification of the loan and interest documents and a reasonable opportunity to produce evidence, subject to a warning that further non cooperation may attract adverse inference.

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