open my $data, '+<', $INFILE1 or die "can't open\n$INFILE1\n";
    while (<$data>) {
    ...;
    my ( $data ) = split (',',) ;
    ...
    close $data or die "can't close\n$INFILE1\n"; 
}
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Apart from any other problem(s), the  $data lexical filehandle you're trying to close is not the one you open-ed and is not a filehandle at all. It is a lexical of the same name that was created as a part of the split statement and that hides or "shadows" the filehandle lexical. Inclusion of the  $! error variable in the die expression of the close statement might have alerted you to the fact that it wasn't a filehandle. (See  $! in Error Variables in perlvar.)

... if the first column is not empty, then it should print out to the same file ...

The statement
    print "$_ \n";
prints to the default filehandle, which I assume would be  STDOUT given the code we are shown in the OP. (Update: select can change this default.)