VIJAYA SOMASUNDARAM,CHENNAI vs. ITO, WARD-4, TIRUNELVELI

Brief facts of the case are that the assessee is an individual and has filed her return of income for the AY 2015-16 on 09.10.2015, declaring total income of Rs.9,65,820/-. As per the information available with the department, the Assessing Officer found that the assessee had sold an immovable property along with five other co-owners to the tune of Rs.2,80,44,969/- during the assessment year. The case was re-opened u/s.147 of the Act, accordingly, a notice u/s.148 of the Act and other statutory notices were issued to the assessee by calling for details. In response, the assessee has failed to file return of income u/s.148 of the Act and has partly submitted the reply along with its supporting documents for examination. On perusal of the documents submitted by the assessee, the AO completed the reassessment by passing an order u/s.147 r.w.s 144 of the Act dated 25.09.2021 by making an addition of Rs.46,74,161/- as short term capital gain and by arriving total income of Rs.56,39,981/-.

Aggrieved by the order of the AO, the assessee preferred an appeal before the ld.CIT(A), NFAC, Delhi on 12.01.2022 with a delay in filing an appeal.

At the outset, we observed that the ld.CIT(A) dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee as non-maintainable due to delay in filing an appeal by 78 days. Aggrieved by the impugned order of the Ld.CIT(A), the assessee is in appeal before us.

The ld.AR submitted that the assessee could not file the appeal before the ld.CIT(A) within the time limit due to COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged stay outside India. Further, ld.AR of the assessee argued that the authorities below failed to appreciate that the real owners namely S.Preethi and S.Vikram had already declared the capital gains arising out of the said transaction in their

Per contra, the ld.DR submitted that the appeal was to be filed before the ld.CIT(A) by the assessee within 30 days of the service, but the assessee has filed this appeal with a delay of 78 days. The assessee has been negligent in filing the appeals within the time limit provided and hence prayed for confirming the order of the ld.CIT(A).

We have heard the ld.DR and perused the material available on record and gone through the orders of the lower authorities. We note that the AO has passed a reassessment order by considering the information available with the department and on appeal the same has been dismissed in limine by the ld.CIT(A), NFAC due to delay in filing the appeal before the first appellate authority.

In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances, and in order to advance the cause of substantial justice, we are inclined to grant one more opportunity to the assessee. Accordingly, the delay in filing the appeal before the ld. CIT(A) is hereby condoned, as the assessee has duly set out the reasons for such delay in Form No. 35, which in our considered opinion, constitutes sufficient cause. Consequently, the impugned orders of the ld.CIT(A) are set aside, and the matter is restored to the file of the ld.CIT(A) with a direction to adjudicate the appeal afresh on merits, in accordance with law, after affording a

In the result, appeal filed by the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.