INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

HYDERABAD BENCHES “A” : HYDERABAD

M.A.No.84/Hyd/2015
Arising out of ITA.No.1186/Hyd/2014 - Assessment Year 2009-2010
M/s. Sri Venkateswara Padmavathi Trading Company (Appellant) vs  Income Tax Officer (Respondent)
Order Date:28-08-2015

ORDER

By this miscellaneous application, the assessee is seeking recall of the order of the Tribunal dated 29.06.2015 passed ex-parte in ITA.No.1186/Hyd/2014 dismissing the appeal of the assessee for non-prosecution on the following grounds :

“3. The Appellant submit that, it has filed petition for adjournment on 02.03.2015 for the hearing posted before the Hon’ble Bench on 03.03.2015 for the reason that the Authorized Representative, Sri. M. Chandramouleswara Rao will be out of Hyderabad on that date. The Appellant humbly submit that, it is not aware of the date of next posting and no notice of hearing posting the case to 29.06.2015 was served either on it or on the Authorized Representative afterwards and there is no knowledge about the date of the hearing of the Appeal.”

2. We have heard the arguments of both the sides and also perused the relevant material on record. It is observed that while granting adjournment of hearing fixed on 03.03.2015 as sought by the assessee by an application dated 02.03.2015, the hearing was adjourned by the Bench to 29.06.2015 and the date of hearing so given was duly announced in the open Court. It therefore cannot be said that the assessee was not having any knowledge about the hearing of appeal fixed on 29.06.2015. As per the procedure regularly followed by the Tribunal, when the hearing is adjourned as per the request of the appellant/respondent and the date is announced in the open Court in the presence of the representatives of the parties, no notice is separately issued intimating such date of hearing. Even otherwise, when the assessee sought adjournment of the hearing fixed on 03.03.2015, it was his duty to find out the next date of hearing exactly given by the Tribunal if at all there was any confusion about the fresh date announced in the open Court. In our opinion, it is thus a case of negligence on the part of the assessee which has resulted in his non-appearance before the Tribunal on 29.06.2015 culminating into dismissal of his appeal by the Tribunal exparte. However, keeping in view that the appeal of the assessee, in the interest of substantial justice, is finally required to dispose of on merit, we are inclined to recall the order of the Tribunal dated 29.06.2015 (supra) passed exparte subject to payment of cost of Rs.1000 which the assessee shall pay to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. Subject to the said payment, the exparte order of the Tribunal dated 29.06.2015 is recalled and the appeal of the assessee is restored to its original number with a direction to the Registry to fix the same for hearing afresh on 23.11.2015 as announced in the open Court.

3. In the result, miscellaneous application of the assessee is allowed.

Order pronounced in the open Court on 28.08.2015

Sd/-                                                                 Sd/-

(SAKTIJIT DEY)                                 (P.M.JAGTAP)
JUDICIAL MEMBER              ACCOUNTANT MEMBER

Hyderabad, Dated 28th August, 2015