AROKYASAMY RATHINAM,CHENNAI vs. ACIT, CENTRAL CIRCLE-3(2),, CHENNAI

The assessee is an individual and filed the return of income for AY 2017-18 on 31.10.2017 declaring total income of Rs.34,30,430/-. The case was selected for scrutiny and the statutory notices were duly served on the assessee. The A.O completed the assessment by making a disallowance u/s.

There is a delay 117 days in filing the appeal before us and the assessee filed an affidavit along with petition for condonation of delay. It is stated in the affidavit that the assessee is a senior citizen and suffering from various medical issues due to which the assessee could not concentrate on the income tax related matters. It is also stated that the delay therefore is not due to any negligence on the part of the assessee and the reasons for the delay is beyond the control of the assessee. Having heard both the parties and perused the material on record, we are of the view that there is a reasonable and sufficient cause for the delay in filing the appeal before the Tribunal. Therefore following the Hon’ble Supreme Court decision in the case of Collector, Land Acquisition Vs. MST.Katiji & Ors., (167 ITR 471) (SC), we condone the delay in filing the appeal and admit the appeal for adjudication.

We have heard the parties, and perused the material available on record. The Ld. Authorized Representative (AR) of the assessee submitted that the assessee did not appeal before the CIT(A) for the reason that the notice of hearing was sent to wrong email id. The Ld. AR in this regard drew our attention to the email id mentioned in Form-35 and the email IDs to which the CIT(A) has sent various notices of hearing. The Ld. AR accordingly prayed for one more opportunity. Considering the facts and circumstances peculiar to assessee's case, we are inclined to give one more opportunity to the

Further, we also levy a cost of Rs.5,000/- (Five thousand only) in the appeal since considerable time and efforts have been spent by the Exchequer and for the reason that the assessee being delinquent before the lower authorities. The same shall be paid by the assessee to Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority at Hon’ble High Court of Madras within a period of one month from the date of receipt of this order and produce the receipt before the CIT(A).

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