2024 (6) TMI 67

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....lenge, the CIT(A) dismissed the appeal of the appellant/assessee on the reasoning that the claimed order under section 154 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [In short, the 'Act'] against which the appeal filed was an internal correspondence between the Assessing Officer [In short, as the 'AO'] & the Range Head and therefore, the same could not be appealed before the CIT(A).The limited issue that we are tasked here to decide is that whether the CIT(A) was justified in dismissing the appeal of the appellant/assessee on the above reasoning. 3. The relevant facts, in brief, emerged from the documents submitted by the appellant/assessee, a contractor, are that its case pertaining to the AY 1991-92 was scrutinized and the assessment was completed un....

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....A), who disposed it vide order dated 04.01.2013 as under: - "The entire issue is not a matter of appeal but the matter of verification and rectification by the Assessing Officer. The appellant is directed to submit the entire set of its contentions, in form of application u/s 154 before the Assessing Officer and put its request for redressal of its grievance, before the Assessing Officer and, if needed, at higher forums. The Assessing Officer is directed to look into the matter carefully and sympathetically and do the needful...." 3.3 In pursuance of the CIT(A)'s order dated 04.01.2013, the appellant/assessee filed an application under section 154 of the Act before the AO on 10.11.2014 for proper working of quantum of refund due....

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....is appealable order, but the appellant failed to file appeal against such order u/s 154 of the Act that too within the stipulated time of 30 days. Accordingly, the appeal of the appellant is not maintainable. Since the grounds rendered infructuous. Accordingly, appeal is dismissed." 4. The matter brought up before us revolves around one issue that whether the communication/order dated 04.7.2020 of the AO to the Range Head (A copy of the same was endorsed to the appellant/assessee.) is an appealable order u/s 246A of the Act. 5. The Ld. AR argued that the appellant/assessee had not have any say on the way in which any order is written by the AO. The Ld. AR further contended that how the application filed under section 154 of the Act be....

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....oned that he had already passed an order u/s 154 of the Act on 07.01.2011, which addressed all grievances of the assessee whereas the appellant/ assessee had requested for revision and rectification of the order passed u/s 154 of the Act on 07.01.2011 vide its application filed under section 154 of the Act on 10.11.2014. 5.2 The Ld. AR further submitted that how an application filed under section 154 of the Act in 2014 as mentioned above could be disposed of in January, 2011. Hence, the inference drawn by the AO in this regard is unjustified. It was further contended that the Ld. CIT(A) had held that the assessee failed to file appeal against the order passed under section 154 of the Act by the AO in pursuance of the assessee's applicati....

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....nths from the end of the month in which such application is received by the AO. Therefore, the issuance of an order disposing the application filed under section 154 of the Act is absolutely necessary. Since no order as per provisions of section 154(8) of the Act was ever passed by the AO, therefore, the appellant/assessee was not aware about the fate of its application filed under section 154 of the Act before the AO on 10.11.2014. When the fate of the same came to its notice vide the communication/order dated 04.7.2020 of the AO, then it filed the appeal before the CIT(A). The Act does not provide any recourse to the assessee when the AO failed to dispose of any application filed under section 154 of the Act within the statutory time limi....

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.... the time specified under subsection (7) of section 154, it may be disposed of by that authority even after the expiry of the statutory time-limit, on merits and in accordance with law." 11. As per the Circular No.4 dated 20.06.2012, the CBDT has authorized its subordinates to make appropriate corrections in the figures of disputed arrear demands after due verification and reconciliation and examining the merits of the case by way of rectification, irrespective of the fact that the period of limitation of four years as provided u/s. 154(7) of the Act has elapsed. The relevant portion of the Circular No.4 dated 20.06.2012 is extracted here under: - "............ 3. In view of the above the following has been decided: - ....