The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Surat Bench, has remanded the case of ‘Amity Land Developers’ for a fresh assessment.
The Assessing Officer had added an amount of Rs 27.22 lakh u/s 50C of the Income Tax Act without considering the report of the Departmental Valuation Officer (DVO). The Tribunal asked the AO to reconsider the case after analysing the valuation report and the taxpayer’s submissions.
The case is concerned with AY 2013-14. income tax return (ITR) was submitted by Amity Land Developers reporting nil income. Thereafter, the AO reopened the assessment after obtaining data that the firm had sold two immovable properties for amounts less than their respective stamp duty values.
The AO found that one property was sold for Rs 1.62 lakh, while its stamp duty value was Rs 22.04 lakh, resulting in a difference of Rs 20.42 lakh. A second property was sold for Rs 54,000, while its stamp duty value was Rs 7.34 lakh, representing a difference of Rs 6.80 lakh.
The AO invoked the provisions of Section 50C of the Income-tax Act, treated the total difference of Rs 27,22,775 as additional income, and determined the firm’s total income on this basis.
The taxpayer filed an appeal with the ITAT against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], NFAC, Delhi, which had upheld this assessment.
During the appeal, the Tribunal noted that the Assessing Officer (AO) had referred the matter to the Departmental Valuation Officer (DVO) at the request of the taxpayer.
However, the DVO’s report was not received before the assessment deadline of March 31, 2022, and the AO completed the assessment without taking any valuation report into account.
The counsel for the taxpayer, Shri Krutarth Desai, informed the Tribunal about the DVO report dated October 27, 2022.
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After reviewing the report, along with the objections and submissions from the assessee, the Tribunal decided to send the case back to the AO for a fresh assessment. This request was approved by the Departmental Representative.
Considering the submissions, the ITAT Bench, which included Judicial Member Suchitra Kamble and Accountant Member B.M. Biyani, remanded the case to the AO for a new evaluation.
The Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer (AO) to provide the assessee with a complete opportunity to be heard and to consider all submissions without being influenced by the previous assessment order.
Thus, the appeal was permitted for statistical purposes.
| Case Title | Amity Land Developers vs. The Assessing Officer |
| Case No. | ITA No. 1286 / SRT / 2025 |
| Assessee by | Shri Krutarth Desai |
| Revenue by | Shri Ashish Kumar |
| Surat ITAT | Read Order |
