2021 (6) TMI 1165 - AT - Income Tax

Validity of assessment completed u/s. 143(3) r.w.s 153C - non appearance by assessee - HELD THAT - At the time of hearing None appeared before us on behalf of the assessee. The assessee has also not filed any written submissions or furnished evidence to justify his stand. In this situation, we are of view that the assessee is not interested to pursue his appeals. Further from the order sheet, it is apparent that the appeals were posted for hearing on several occasions. However, none appeared on behalf of the assessee on the earlier occasions. Moreover, the appeals are also time barred by one day and the assessee has not filed delay condonation petition. For the above stated reasons,hereby hold that the appeals of the assessee are devoid of merits and accordingly disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
1. Estimation of profit on sale of liquor
2. Treatment of agricultural income
3. Estimation of interest income from sundry creditors
4. Treatment of undisclosed income from promissory notes
5. Treatment of sundry creditors as undisclosed income
6. Non-appearance of assessee and dismissal of appeals

Estimation of profit on sale of liquor:
The assessee challenged the estimation of profit on the sale of liquor by the CIT (A), arguing that it was erroneously set at 5% of the turnover instead of the 3% adopted by the Assessing Officer. This issue was raised for the assessment years 2015-16 and 2016-17. However, due to the absence of the assessee during the hearing and the lack of submissions or evidence to support their position, the Tribunal found the appeal devoid of merit and dismissed it.

Treatment of agricultural income:
The CIT (A) sustained the addition made by the Assessing Officer, treating 50% of the agricultural income declared by the assessee as non-agricultural income. This issue was raised by the assessee for the assessment years 2015-16 and 2016-17. Despite the assessee's appeal, the Tribunal dismissed it due to the assessee's lack of interest in pursuing the case, as evidenced by repeated non-appearances during the proceedings.

Estimation of interest income from sundry creditors:
For the assessment year 2017-18, the assessee contested the CIT (A)'s decision to uphold the addition made by the Assessing Officer concerning the estimated interest income earned from sundry creditors amounting to ?2,33,100. The Tribunal noted the absence of the assessee during the hearing and the failure to provide any written submissions or evidence, leading to the dismissal of the appeal for lack of merit.

Treatment of undisclosed income from promissory notes:
In the same assessment year 2017-18, the CIT (A) sustained the addition made by the Assessing Officer, who treated the aggregate amount of ?19,64,300 mentioned in 44 promissory notes found during a search at the assessee's premises as undisclosed income. The assessee appealed this decision, but due to the non-appearance of the assessee and the lack of timely filing or justification, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal.

Treatment of sundry creditors as undisclosed income:
Another issue raised by the assessee for the assessment year 2017-18 was the CIT (A)'s decision to uphold the addition made by the Assessing Officer, treating sundry creditors amounting to ?7,44,000 as undisclosed income due to the failure to produce confirmation statements. Despite the appeal, the Tribunal dismissed it as the assessee did not actively pursue the case, leading to a lack of merit in the appeals.

Non-appearance of assessee and dismissal of appeals:
The Tribunal highlighted the repeated non-appearance of the assessee during the proceedings, the lack of filed written submissions, and the failure to justify their position with evidence. Due to these reasons, coupled with the appeals being time-barred and the absence of a delay condonation petition, the Tribunal concluded that the appeals lacked merit and were dismissed. The Tribunal acknowledged the delayed pronouncement of the order, attributing it to the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and referring to a relevant decision from the Mumbai Bench of the Tribunal.