9911796707
TMI Blog1989 (2) TMI 146X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... te was that the learned CIT(A) erred in passing the order ex parte on merits on the ground that the assessee had been accommodated on more than one occasion in the matter of adjournment and there was no justifiable reason for adjourning the matter on 19th Feb., 1986. 3. To give the CIT(A)'s version of events which prompted him to pass the ex parte order, we would like to reproducePara2 of his order as follows: "The hearing of this appeal was fixed on16th Jan., 1986when Shri Sanjay Agarwal appeared and filed an adjournment petition. The hearing was refixed on4th Feb., 1986. On this date, Shri R.K. Gupta, appeared and filed another adjournment petition on the ground that this appeal matter was entrusted to M/s M.S. Associates, Advocates, on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... had disrupted the normal working of the Madras Branch of the appellant company. The branch had to remove the books of accounts from the normal place of working or otherwise they would have been destroyed. The said books are now being sorted out and would be inDelhihopefully by the end of this month. The aforesaid is borne out from the telegram received by us from theMadrasbranch on31st Jan., 1986. A photocopy of the same is enclosed. In view of the above you are requested to kindly adjourn the hearing till the first of week of March, 1986 so as to enable us to represent the case properly". 6. Against the above stated request that the hearing be fixed in the first week of March, 1986, the learned CIT(A) adjourned the matter to 18th Feb., 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essee to seek adjournment could not and should not have prompted an ex parte order from the learned first appellate authority.
8. In our considered view after having accepted the assessees' request made on 14th Feb., 1986, the assessee's request on 19th Feb., 1986 could be termed as tactics avoiding hearing because the factual aspect as stated by the assessee did not come for any adverse comments from the CIT(A).
9. We, therefore, without going into the merits of the case, whether on the given facts penalty was exigible, restore the case back to the CIT(A)'s file for fresh adjudication expeditiously from the stage of filing of the appeal before the first appellate authority.
10. In the result, the appeal is allowed. X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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