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Before: Shri V. Durga Rao & Shri G. Manjunatha
O R D E R
PER V. DURGA RAO, JUDICIAL MEMBER:
Both the appeals filed by the assessee are directed against different orders of the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) 8, Chennai, both dated 09.03.2020 relevant to the assessment years 2013- 14 and 2015-16.
Both the appeals filed by the assessee are delay by 818 days in filing the appeal before the Tribunal. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that due to outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and also within the lockdown extended period allowed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court due to outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and prayed for condoning the delay and admitting the appeals for adjudication. The ld. DR has not raised any serious objection. Since the assessee was prevented by reasonable cause, the delay of 818 days in filing the appeal before the Tribunal is condoned and admitted the appeals for adjudication.
Brief facts of the case are that the assessment under section 143(3) r.w.s. 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [“Act” in short] was completed on 26.12.2018 by assessing income of the assessee at ₹. 4,49,00,227/- against the returned income of ₹.4,75,993/- for the assessment year 2013-14 as well as assessed income at ₹.96,78,323/- against returned income of ₹.6,36,586/- for the assessment year 2015-16.
The assessee carried the matters in appeal before the ld. CIT(A)_ for both the assessment years. Since the assessee could not put its appearance or filed any written submissions, the ld. CIT(A) decided the appeals and confirmed the assessment orders for both the assessment years.
On being aggrieved, the assessee is in appeal before the Tribunal for both the assessment years. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that due to some unavoidable circumstances, the assessee could not put its appearance and thereby, the ld. CIT(A) has concluded the appellate order exparte and confirmed the assessment orders. It was also submitted that there was short delay of 27 days in filing the appeal before the ld. CIT(A) and despite the assessee was prevented by reasonable cause, the ld. CIT(A) has not condoned the delay in filing the appeal. The ld. Counsel has prayed that the delay in filing the appeal before the ld. CIT(A) may be condoned and one more opportunity may be afforded to substantiate the case of the assessee before the ld. CIT(A) on merits for both the assessment years.
On the other hand, the ld. DR strongly supported the orders of the authorities below.
We have heard both the sides, perused the materials available on record and gone through the orders of authorities below. Against the assessment orders, the assessee filed appeals before the ld. CIT(A). The ld. CIT(A) has afforded various opportunities to the assessee to represent its case before him. However, we find that the assessee has not turned- up to appear before the ld. CIT(A) or file any written submissions in support of the grounds of appeal raised by the ld. CIT(A). Since there was no representation from the assessee, the ld. CIT(A) proceeded to decide the appeal and confirmed the order passed by the Assessing Officer for both the assessment years.
8. Since, before us, the ld. Counsel for the assessee has prayed to afford one more opportunity of being heard to the assessee to substantiate its case before the ld. CIT(A), in order to meet the ends of natural justices, we set aside the exparte order of the ld.CIT(A) and remit the matter back to the file of the ld. CIT(A) for fresh adjudication in accordance with law by affording an opportunity of being heard to the assessee by condoning the short delay in filing the appeal before the ld. CIT(A) for the assessment year 2013-14.
In the result, both the appeals filed by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open Court on 26th September, 2022 at Chennai.