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Facts
The assessee, an individual, failed to file a regular return of income for AY 2018-19. The AO initiated assessment proceedings under Section 148 after obtaining information about the sale of a residential property. A best judgment assessment was made after the assessee failed to comply with the notice.
Held
The Tribunal held that the CIT(A) ought not to have refused to condone the delay in filing the appeal, considering the reasons provided by the assessee, which included serious heart ailment. Therefore, the CIT(A)'s order was set aside.
Key Issues
Whether the CIT(A) was justified in refusing to condone the delay in filing the appeal by the assessee.
Sections Cited
148
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, COCHIN BENCH
Before: SHRI INTURI RAMA RAO, AM
This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi [CIT(A)] dated 31.08.2024 for Assessment Year (AY) 2018-19.
Brief facts of the case are that appellant is an individual. No regular return of income for the A.Y. 2018-19was filed by the appellant. However, the AO formed an opinion that income escapement assessment to tax based on the information that appellant sold a residential property on 23/06/2017 for a Shahul Hameed Thaha consideration of Rs. 60,00,000/- and accordingly, a notice u/s. 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short, 'the Act') issued to the appellant. Appellant neither complied with the notice u/s. 148 nor furnished any information. In these circumstances, the AO was constrained to pass the best judgment assessment vide order dated 31/02/2023 making addition of Rs. 47,01,500/-.
Being aggrieved by the assessment order, an appeal was filed before the CIT(A) with a delay of 156 days. The learned CIT(A) refused to condone the delay by holding that appellant had not shown sufficient reason for delay.
Being aggrieved, the assessee is in appeal before the Tribunal in the present appeal.
At the outset, I find that the present appeal is filed with a delay of 251 days. The appellant filed a petition seeking condonation of delay on the ground that appellant is suffering from serious heart ailment and medical certificate in this regard also enclosed. In these circumstances, I am of the considered opinion, it is a fit case to condone the delay. Accordingly, delay is condoned and the appeal is admitted for adjudication.
I find that learned CIT(A) refused to condone the delay of 152 days and dismissed the appeal on the ground of delay. It was submitted before the learned CIT(A) that appellant was undergoing Shahul Hameed Thaha treatment for heart ailment resulting in delay in filing the appeal. I am of the considered opinion that learned CIT(A) ought not have refused to condone the delay having regard to the reasons given for delay and adjudicated the issue on merits. Accordingly, I set aside the order passed by the learned CIT(A) and remit the matter back to the file of learned CIT(A) for denovo adjudication after affording reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee. Thus, the appeal filed by the assessee stands partly allowed for statistical purposes.
In the result, the appeal filed by the assessee is partly allowed for statistical purposes Order pronounced in the open court on 13th July, 2025.