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Facts
The assessee's appeal was filed belatedly by 289 days due to a wrong email address being used for communication, the assessee's serious medical conditions (brain disease, wife's cancer), and his lack of awareness of the proceedings. The assessee was also not aware of the ex-parte assessment order passed by the NFAC and subsequent order by the CIT(A).
Held
The Tribunal condoned the delay of 289 days, acknowledging the reasonable cause presented by the assessee. The Tribunal held that the non-compliance with notices was due to incorrect email addresses and medical emergencies, and in the interest of justice, the appeal should be restored.
Key Issues
Whether the delay in filing the appeal can be condoned due to medical issues and communication errors? Whether the ex-parte assessment order should be set aside in the interest of justice?
Sections Cited
144
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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ‘D’ BENCH
आदेश / O R D E R PER AMIT SHUKLA (J.M): The aforesaid appeal has been filed by the assessee against order dated 23/01/2024 passed by NFAC, Delhi for the quantum of assessment passed u/s.144 for the A.Y.2017- 18.
At the outset, appeal of the assessee is barred by limitation by 289 days. In the petition for condonation of delay alongwith affidavit, it had been stated that assessee was diagnosed with rare brain disease/ tuberculosis of brain in Mahadev Chandrakant Kachare the year 2014 which he has not recovered till today and for this reason, he is prone to short term memory loss and his memory is impaired. In support he has filed medical reports and records. He has further stated that he is merely 6th pass and could not write and read English and nor he is used to technology or gadgets and cannot even read SMS or e-mail received in English. Thus, he used to rely on his family members or office staff. Later on, his wife also got diagnosed with cancer in November 2022 and was undergoing treatment and was hospitalized for considerable time and for this he has filed medical reports and records alongwith affidavit.
Apart from that, it had been stated that earlier he was depending upon one Chartered Accountant who has filed the return of income in A.Y.2016-17 and thereafter, he was not in contact with his authorised representative or CA from 2017- 18. The return of income for A.Y.2015-16 and 2016-17 following e-mail addresses were mentioned.
A.Y. Address E-mail address mentioned Mentioned 2015-16 Jagjeevan namratagogawale78@gmail.com Mansion 2016-17 Jagjeevan namratagogawale78@gmail.com Mansion
However, he is not aware of name of the person under whose name e-mail has been addressed and he does not know any person by the name Namrata Gogawale. From A.Y.2017- Mahadev Chandrakant Kachare 18 onwards, he did not have any regular tax consultant as he was not filing any return of income because he was under the bonafide belief that income was below taxable limits. He was not aware of any income tax proceedings which were initiated nor did he receive any such notices, because all these notices were issued on the e-mail address of Namrata Gogawale which assessee was not aware of any such notices. It is for this reason assessee could not respond to any notices before the ld. AO as well as before the ld. CIT(A) and he was also not aware of any such order passed by the ld. CIT(A). Later on, he has appointed new Chartered Accountant, Ms. Ruchika Shah and when she pointed out that there is an outstanding demand for A.Y.2017-18 of Rs.1.50 Crores arising out of exparte assessment order, it was then assessment order was obtained and appeal was filed before the ld. CIT(A). Before the ld. CIT (A) he has updated the profile details. e-mail ID – tanishkamk2006@gmail.com
However, the notices from the office of the ld. CIT(A) was issued on earlier e-mail address i.e. namratagogawale78@gmail.com with a copy to tanishkamk2006@gmail.com. There was an adjournment request made by the CA who was out of town because assessee’s documents were under compilation thereafter, assessee’s wife got cancer and she was hospitalized in a very serious condition. The assessee could not attend to any such notices or information from the CA. The last date of hearing by the ld. CIT(A) was given on 04/01/2024 which was issued Mahadev Chandrakant Kachare on old e-mail address only. It was later on the assessee found that ld. CIT (A) has passed exparte order and once assessee through a professional help of a different Chartered Accountant Mrs. Preeti Ladha came to know about the ld. CIT(A) order and after obtaining the copy has filed the appeal. All these facts have been narrated in the affidavit.
In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances narrated in the affidavit, we find that there is a reasonable cause in filing the appeal belatedly and accordingly, the delay of 289 days is condoned. Further, the non-compliance of notices before the ld. AO and ld. CIT(A) was for the reason that notices were sent on a wrong e-mail ID and later on assessee had medical contingencies of his wife and therefore, no representation could be made. Accordingly, in the interest of justice, the appeal of the assessee is restored back to the file of the ld. AO to decide the issue afresh and in accordance with law after giving due opportunity of hearing to the assessee.
In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced on 24th February, 2025.