Appellate Authority Has Duty & Obligation to Look Into Merits of Matter Even in Absence of Assessee During Proceedings | HC

Case Details: S K Construction and Co. v. State of Bihar - [2023] 156 taxmann.com 553 (Patna)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • K. Vinod Chandran, CJ. & Rajiv Roy, J.
  • Dinesh Kumar & Amar Kumar, Advs. for the Petitioner.
  • Vikash Kumar, Dr Krishna Nandan Singh, Anshuman Singh, Abhijeet Gautam & Prakritita Sharma for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the present case, the assessee filed an appeal before appellate authority. The appeal was dismissed by the Appellate Authority due to absence of assessee or its authorized representative during proceedings.

It filed writ petition against the order and contended that the ground stated in impugned order for rejection of appeal was a cursory one and without any discussion of facts and figures.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the Appellate Authority has a duty and an obligation under Section 107 to look into merits of matter and also examine grounds raised by assessee, even if there is no presence recorded of assessee before Appellate Authority.

In this case, the Authority must have decided the issue on merits. Therefore, the Court held that the impugned order was to be set aside and appeal to be restored before Appellate Authority. The assessee was also directed to appear before Appellate Authority.

List of Cases Reviewed

• • Purushottam Stores v. State of Bihar [2023] 150 taxmann.cm 480 (Patna) (para 2) followed.