The Kerala High Court has ruled that an appeal under the Income Tax Act cannot be dismissed merely because the assessee failed to appear. The court emphasized that appellate authorities are bound to follow Section 250(6) of the Act, which mandates that decisions must be made based on the contentions raised, with proper reasons recorded in writing.
The case was heard by Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A., who made it clear that the law does not permit appeals to be thrown out simply due to non-appearance. The petitioner, Anandan N., had retired voluntarily from ICICI Bank during the assessment year 2004–05 and received a retirement benefit of ₹4,52,814. He had claimed relief under Section 89(1) and later filed for exemption under Section 10(10C), which was rejected by the Assessing Officer. His revision petition was also denied.
Afterward, he filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), which was dismissed solely on the ground of his repeated non-appearance. Challenging this decision, Anandan moved the High Court stating that the order did not comply with the requirements of Section 250(6).
"Evidently, going by Subsection 6 of Section 250, no other meaning can be assigned to the words 'points for determination' as it obviously leads to the question that arises for consideration based on the contentions raised in the appeal," the Court stated.
Read Also:- Allahabad High Court Grants Bail to Two Men Accused of Reciting Hanuman Chalisa Near Mosque in Meerut
The Income Tax Department defended the dismissal, claiming the assessee showed no interest despite several notices. However, the court noted that the impugned order only addressed absence, not the actual content of the appeal.
"There is no provision for rejecting an appeal for non-appearance of the appellant. Therefore, the appellate authority must decide the appeal strictly as per the mandate under Section 250(6)," the Court emphasized.
As a result, the court quashed the dismissal order and directed the authority to reconsider the appeal after giving the petitioner a proper opportunity to be heard. The reconsideration must be completed within three months.
Case Title: Anandan N. v. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)
Case Number: WP(C) No. 11709 of 2023
Counsel for Petitioner: Sanjana R. Nair
Counsel for Respondents: Jose Joseph
