2012 (9) TMI 1242 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues Involved:
The judgment involves the re-fixing of an appeal by the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Agra for the limited purpose of disposing of an application of the assessee filed for admission of an additional ground.

Background and AO's Assessment:
The AO passed an exparte assessment order u/s. 144/147 of the IT Act, making additions including disallowance of interest, commission, and investment in a hotel building. The AO ignored the loss claimed by the assessee, resulting in a residue loss after an order u/s. 154. The assessment was made at Nil income. The ld. CIT(A) partly allowed the appeal, reducing the interest addition but confirming the commission addition. The ITAT, Agra dismissed both the assessee's and the Revenue's appeals. The assessee filed an M.A. requesting permission to raise an additional ground challenging the AO's estimation of income at Nil.

Decision on Additional Ground:
The Tribunal allowed the assessee's M.A., noting that the original order did not address the application for permission to raise an additional ground. The Tribunal recalled the order for the limited purpose of disposing of the application. The appeal was re-fixed for hearing on this specific issue.

Arguments and Tribunal's Analysis:
The assessee's counsel argued that the AO incorrectly determined the income as Nil without providing reasons, and requested to raise the additional ground. However, since the appeal had already been dismissed, the ld. DR contended that the additional ground was not maintainable. The Tribunal observed that the additional ground did not arise from the ld. CIT(A)'s order and could not be raised at this stage after the appeal's finality. The Tribunal had no jurisdiction to entertain the application post the final order.

Final Decision:
The Tribunal dismissed the application for admission of the additional ground, stating that it could not be considered legally at that stage since the appeal had already been dismissed on merits. Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was also dismissed.

This summary provides a detailed overview of the issues involved, the background of the case, the decision on the additional ground, the arguments presented, the Tribunal's analysis, and the final decision rendered in the judgment by the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Agra.