ITAT Imposes Cost On Assessee For Being Delinquent And Lethargic In Pursuing The case Before The Authorities

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has imposed a fine of Rs. 2000 for being delinquent and lethargic in pursuing the matter before the tax authorities.

"Since the assessee has not appeared before any of the tax authorities below, in the interest of justice, we are of the view that the assessee may be provided with an opportunity to present his case properly before the Ld. CIT (A). Since the assessee was delinquent and lethargic in pursuing his matter before the tax authorities, we impose a cost of Rs. 2000/- upon the assessee, which shall be paid to the credit of the Income Tax Department as "other fees’ within two months from the date of receipt of this order," the bench of Narender Kumar Choudhry (Judicial Member) and B.R. Baskaran (Accountant Member) observed.

The Assessing Officer has received information that the assessee sold shares for an amount of Rs. 18.71 crore during the assessment year 2016–17. Since the assessee did not furnish any detail regarding the purchase and sale of shares, the Assessing Officer estimated the income at 5% of the sale value and accordingly assessed a sum of Rs. 93,59,330 under Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Before the CIT (A), the assessee did not appear, and hence the CIT (A) confirmed the order passed by the Assessing Officer.

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the CIT (A), which relates to Assessment Year 2016–17. The assessee was aggrieved by the decision of CIT (A) in confirming the order of the Assessing Officer in estimating the income of the assessee from share trading transactions at Rs. 93.59 lakhs.

A person claiming to be a chartered accountant appeared on behalf of the assessee and sought adjournment on the ground that the assessee has moved an RTI application before the Assessing Officer seeking certain information. He did not possess a letter of authority, and further, he did not appear in the prescribed dress. Hence, the bench did not recognize his presence.

The ITAT directed the assessee to cooperate with CIT (A) for expeditious disposal of the appeal.

Case Title: Anilkumar Champalal Jain Versus ITO

Case No.: ITA NO. 248/MUM/2023

Date: 03/05/2023

Counsel For Appellant: None

Counsel For Respondent: Manoj Kumar Sinha

Click Here To Read The Order