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Facts
The Assessee filed an appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) with a delay of 864 days against an assessment order. The Ld. CIT(A) dismissed the appeal due to the delay, without condoning it.
Held
The Tribunal condoned the delay of 864 days in filing the first appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) and remanded the matter to the Ld. CIT(A) for a fresh decision on merits.
Key Issues
Whether the delay in filing the appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) was sufficiently justified to be condoned, and if so, whether the appeal should be decided on merits.
Sections Cited
68
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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DELHI
ORDER PER YOGESH KUMAR, U.S. JM: The present appeal is filed by the Assessee against the order of Ld.
Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (‘Ld. CIT(A) for short), New -3, Noida dated 21/11/2024 for the Assessment Year 2010-11.
Brief facts of the case are that, an assessment order came to be passed on 30/12/2017 by computing the income of the Assessee at Rs. 24,11,150/- by making an addition of Rs. 24,11,150/- u/s 68 of the Act.
Aggrieved by the assessment order dated 30/12/2017, the Assessee preferred the Appeal before the Ld. CIT(A). Since, there was a delay of 864 days and filing the first Appeal, the Ld. CIT(A) vide order dated 21/11/2024 , dismissed the Appeal filed by the Assessee on delay in latches. Aggrieved by the order of the Ld. CIT(A), the Assessee preferred the present Appeal.
The Ld. Counsel for the Assessee vehemently submitted that the Ld. CIT(A) has dismissed the first Appeal though there was sufficient cause the condone the delay, therefore, sought for allowing the present Appeal of the Assessee.
Per contra, the Ld. Departmental Representative vehemently submitted that there was no sufficient cause to condone the inordinate delay in filing the Appeal before the Ld. CIT(A), therefore, sought for dismissal of the present Appeal.
We have heard both the parties and perused the material available on record. Aggrieved by the assessment order dated 30/12/2017, the Assessee preferred Appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) with a delay of 864 days.
As per the Assessee the cause of the delay are as under:-
“ (i) Mr. vijendra Tripathy, the Director of the Company, received the impugned order on 1st January, 2018 and immediately sent the same to Mr. Hridesh Singh, an accountant of the Company, with an instruction that the same be forwarded to Mr. Vishnu Agarwal, Chartered Accountants for further action; (ii) Mr. Hridesh Singh kept the order in his drawer and inadvertently, failed to send the same to the Chartered Accountants. Later, Mr. Hridesh Singh left the Company in September 2018. The order was lost of; (iii) During the Covid-19 time in May 2019, Mr. Tripathy was taking account of all papers sand documents in the office and found the impugned order lying in the drawer of Mr. Hridesh Singh. On enquiry with the chartered Accountants, he realized that the appeal was never filed against the said order; (iv) Mr. Tripathy immediately sent the order to R. S. Khandelwal& Associates Chartered Accountants, Mumbai for further action.
The Ld. CIT(A) has not condone the delay. It can be seen from the reasons contended by the Assessee that due to the negligence of the Accountant of the Company, the requisite steps have not been taken for filing the Appeal. The copy of the assessment order was found during the Covid-19 period in the driver of the Accountant as the Appeal has not been filed. The Hon'ble Supreme Court time and again clarified that the delay in filing the Appeal with sufficient cause should be looked into in a liberal way and shall condone the delay. In the landmark decision in Collector, Land & Acquisition vs. Mst. Katiji& Others (1987) 167 ITR 471 (SC), the Hon'ble Supreme Court settled the law that the delay when supported by justifiable reasons, must make way for the cause of substantial justice. Considering the above facts and circumstances, we condone the delay of 864 days in filing the first Appeal before the Ld. CIT(A) and remand the matter to the file of the Ld. CIT(A) with a direction to the Ld. CIT(A) to decide the Appeal afresh on its merits in accordance with law after providing opportunity of being heard to the Assessee.
In the result, the Appeal of the Assessee is partly allowed for statistical purpose.