BEFORE THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL,

NEW DELHI
ITA 1076 OF 2023
M/s ROOP V K JAIN FOUNDATION ….Appellant
Versus
CIT (Exemptions), Chandigarh …..Respondent

LIST OF DATES

26.07.201 M/s Roop V K Jain Foundation was incorporated

8 as Public Charitable Irrevocable Trust
21.01.202 Application for registration u/s 12AA of Income
0 Tax Act, 1961 was filed vide form 10A on
21.01.2020, such an application was rejected and
an appeal against the order was preferred before
ITAT as ITA No. 297 of 2021
21.12.202 Trust Deed was amended, to include dissolution
0 clause and amended deed was registered with Sub
Registrar, Nuh.
27.05.202 Fresh Application was made for registration under
1 section 12AA, and accordingly Provisional
Registration was granted on 27.05.2021
30.03.202 Appellant Trust e-filed an application in Form No.
2 10AB on 30.03.2022 along with necessary
documents/information
12.09.202 Appellant withdrew Form 10AB vide letter dated
2 12.09.2022, in order to file a fresh application
under S12(A)(1)(iii) in place of the earlier Form
which had been filed erroneously under clause (ii)
16.03.202 Subsequent to the fresh Application, consultant of
3 Appellant logged into the Portal for checking the
status of the form 10AB, and was shocked to know
that a notice had been issued on the portal to the
Appellant which had not been duly intimated
either via email or SMS, and furthermore the
Commissioner had proceeded ex-parte to dismiss
the Application on ground of non-reply.
17.03.202 Appellant, immediately sent an email to the
3 Ld.CIT (E), informing him of the deficiency of
 requisite service of any such notice and requested
him to re-open the proceedings

SUBMISSIONS

1. That, this is a classic case of the Department stumbling on the

back of it’s own procedural requirements, as it has been clearly
stated by the Department vide Notification No.2 of 2016, the
procedure for transmission of electronic communication,
which reads as- “ For communications delivered or
transmitted electronically- (i) email address available in the
income-tax return furnished by the addressee to which the
communication relates; (ii) the email address available in the
last income-tax return furnished by the addressee; (iii) in the
case of addressee being a company, email address of the
company as available on the website of Ministry of Corporate
Affairs; (iv) any email address made available by the
addressee to the income-tax authority or any person
authorised by such income-tax authority. “

2. That, in case of non-delivery of email on the primary email

address, the notices shall be sent to other email addresses of
the assessee available with the department as mentioned in
Sub Rule (2) of Rule 127, but even for such a provision to
come good, there has to be evidence on record satisfying that
such an attempt of service to the primary email was made, on
failure of which alternative modes were explored. The
impugned CIT (E) Order at no point clarifies any such attempt
to serve the Appellant either through their primary email or
registered phone number.

3. That, mere electronic questionnaire being issued on the e-

filing portal can not be recognized as legitimate service, on the
back of which the CIT(E) can pass an ex-parte order.

4. That, the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in a recent ruling in the

case of Lok Developers v. Deputy Commissioner of Income
Tax [2023] 455 ITR 399 (Bom.) has quashed a notice under
Section 148 to the Assessee on the ground that the same was
not served on the primary email address of the assessee. In the
present case, the Appellant is on an even stronger footing since
 no effort has been made to serve even on an alternative email
address.

5. That, the present case is a clear miscarriage of principles of

natural justice, since in absence of a fair and equitable hearing
the Assessee has been imposed upon with an ex-parte order by
the Ld.CIT(E) without any proper service of such notice
preceeding the Order.

PRAYER

a) That, the Tribunal may allow the appeal filed by the Appellant
by ordering for registration of the Appellant Trust u/s
12AA/12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

b) Pass any other or further order/orders which this Hon’ble

Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the interest of justice.

ATREYA GC.
(ADVOCATE FOR
APPELLANT)