Facts
The assessee filed an appeal against a penalty order levying penalty under Section 271(1)(c) for AY 2015-16. The appeal was filed with a delay of 97 days.
Held
The Tribunal condoned the delay of 97 days, noting that the quantum appeal for the same AY was previously remitted to the AO for denovo consideration after condoning a significant delay. The Tribunal, in line with the previous order, also condoned the delay in the penalty appeal.
Key Issues
Whether the penalty appeal should be dismissed due to delay or if the delay should be condoned in light of the quantum appeal being remitted for denovo consideration.
Sections Cited
271(1)(c)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ‘B’ BENCH : BANGALORE
Before: SHRI WASEEM AHMED & SHRI SOUNDARARAJAN K.
ORDER PER SOUNDARARAJAN K., JUDICIAL MEMBER
This is an appeal filed by the assessee challenging the order of NFAC, Delhi dated 27/11/2024 in respect of the A.Y. 2015-16 w.r.t. penalty levied u/s. 271(1)(c) of the Act.
The present appeal has been filed with a delay of 97 days and the assessee also filed an application to condone the said delay. In the said application, the assessee had explained the reasons for filing the appeal with a delay of 97 days. We considered the said application filed by the assessee and in the interest of justice, we are condoning the said delay and proceeded to decide the appeal on merits.
At the time of hearing, the Ld.AR submitted that the present appeal is against the levy of penalty u/s. 271(1)(c) of the Act but the quantum appeal in respect of the very same A.Y. was decided by this Tribunal in dated 29/08/2025 by remitting the issue to the file of the AO for denovo consideration. The Ld.AR therefore submitted that in view of the above said order of this Tribunal, this appeal against the penalty order becomes infructuous.
We have considered the said submissions and also gone through the order of the Tribunal dated 29/08/2025. Even though the Ld.CIT(A) had dismissed the quantum appeal on the ground of limitation, in the earlier order of this Tribunal, the Tribunal had condoned the delay of 351 days in filing the appeal and remitted the quantum appeal to the file of AO for denovo consideration. Similarly in the penalty appeal order also the Ld CIT(A) had not condoned the delay of 170 days. This Tribunal had set aside the order passed by the Ld CIT in the quantum appeal by condoning the said delay and remitted the issue for denova consideration by the AO on merits. Therefore, we are also inclined to condone the delay of 170 days in filing the appeal before the Ld.CIT(A) and set aside the orders passed by the lower authorities.
In the result, we dismiss the appeal filed by the assessee as infructuous. Order pronounced in the open court on 11th September, 2025.