Delhi High Court Restores Income Tax Appeal Decided Ex-Parte Before Scheduled Hearing Date

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) dismissing a taxpayer's appeal ex-parte, after finding that the authority had decided the matter before the date fixed for hearing and before the deadline for filing written submissions.

The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary was hearing a petition filed by Mehak Asri challenging the CIT(A)'s order dated June 25, 2026, passed under Section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Petitioner had appealed against an assessment order dated December 31, 2019. According to Petitioner, the last hearing notice, issued on June 23, 2026, required written submissions to be filed on or before June 30. However, the CIT(A) passed the impugned order on June 25, before Petitioner could file the submissions or the stipulated date could arrive.

Petitioner contended that the order was contrary to the settled procedure and principles of natural justice, as the appeal had been decided before the date fixed for hearing.

It was also submitted that if given an opportunity, Petitioner could have addressed the merits of the case and placed before the authority an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal order allowing an appeal in similar circumstances.

The Department opposed the petition, arguing that Petitioner ought to have challenged the CIT(A)'s order before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.

The High Court observed that an assessee would ordinarily be required to avail the statutory appellate remedy before approaching the Court. However, it said the present case CIT(A) had committed “procedural error apparent on the face of record”, and Petitioner was only seeking an opportunity of hearing before the CIT(A).

It noted that the authority had passed the order “without even waiting for the date so fixed let alone the written submissions.” It held that the order therefore violated the principles of natural justice.

As such, the impugned order was quashed and the appeal was restored to CIT(A) for fresh consideration.

For Petitioner: Advocates Varun Nagrath, Santosh Kumar Singh & Shubham Sing

For Respondents: Advocate Gibran Naushad, SSC with Suraj Shekhar Singh, Anish Mishra & Hasan Haider for R2. Vishali Nariyala, GP for UOI.