THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL AHMEDABAD “SMC” BENCH Before Ms. Suchitra Kamble, Judicial Member Assessment Year 2019-20

Assessee by: Shri Sunil Piyush Shah, A.R.

Revenue by: Shri Suresh Chand Meena, Sr. D.R.

Date of hearing : 03-12-2025 Date of pronouncement : 16-01-2026 आदेश/ORDER This is an appeal filed against the order dated 05-09-

2025 passed by National Faceless Appeal Centre(NFAC), Delhi for assessment year 2019-20.

2. The grounds of appeal are as under:-

“1. That the order under section 250 dated 05.09.2025 passed by the learned CIT(A), NFAC, New Delhi, upholding the reassessment order dated 11.02.2025 passed under section 147 read with section 144B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ("the Act"), is bad in law, void ab initio, without jurisdiction, and contrary to the settled principles of law.

2. That both the reassessment order dated 11.02.2025 passed under section 147 read with section 144B and the appellate order dated 05.09.2025 passed under section 250 are vitiated in law, having been framed and upheld without furnishing the Appellant with any incriminating material specific to him, and without granting an opportunity to cross-examine the persons whose statements were relied upon. The orders suffer from gross procedural irregularities, non-application of mind, and mechanical reliance on third-party statements, thereby violating the principles of natural justice and rendering the entire proceedings null and void.

3. That the initiation of reassessment proceedings itself is void ab initio, as the notice issued under section 148A(b) and the consequential order under section 148A(d) dated 02.05.2023 were passed mechanically, without furnishing the Appellant with any incriminating material specific to him, and without granting an opportunity to cross-examine the persons whose statements were relied upon, thereby violating the principles of natural justice.

4. That the learned CIT(A) erred in law and on facts in confirming the disallowance of deduction of Rs. 1,00,000 claimed under section 80GGC of the Act towards donation to MANVADHIKAR NATIONAL PARTY, a political party duly registered under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and continuing to be notified as eligible to receive donations under section 29B thereof. The finding that the donation constituted an accommodation entry is perverse, as it is based solely on generic investigation reports and third-party statements, without confronting the Appellant with any material linking him to such allegations.

5. That the learned CIT(A) has erred in drawing adverse inference on irrelevant considerations, including the alleged nearing of retirement of the Appellant, which was erroneously or deliberately related to a statement given in January 2019, whereas in fact the statement was given in January 2025. Such inference has no nexus to the genuineness or allowability of the donation for deduction under section 80GGC.

6. That the initiation of penalty proceedings under section 270A and rejection of immunity under section 270AA are wholly unsustainable in law, since the reassessment order contains no finding invoking section 270A(9) or identifying circumstances of misreporting. The penalty notice is templated and conclusory, and cannot form the basis for denying immunity.

7. That the voluntary payments made by the Appellant of Rs.29,490 (on 27.02.2025) and Rs.8,669 (on 15.08.2025), were made voluntarily without prejudice to avoid hardship, and are liable to be refunded with statutory interest under section 244A, as the demand giving rise to such payments is unlawful.

8. That the orders of the learned AO and learned CIT(A) are arbitrary, contrary to facts and law, violative of the principles of equity, fairness, and natural justice, and hence liable t