RAVINDER NATH GOEL,NEW DELHI vs. ACIT, CIRCLE-47(1), NEW DELHI

The assessee has filed appeal against the order of the Learned Addl./Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-1, Jaipur [“Ld. JCIT(A)”, for short] dated 18.03.2024 for the Assessment Year 2021-22. Brief facts of the case are, the assessee is a resident individual being a 2. salaried employee with Genpact India Pvt. Ltd. During AY 2021-22, the assessee was also working in United States of America (USA) for Genpact LLC and was inter alia in respect of salary income from USA during the assessment year under consideration amounting to Rs.22,35,787 which suffered withholding taxes in USA. The assessee filed return of income for the year under consideration on 30.12.2021 declaring taxable income of Rs.1,35,76,760/- and relief u/s 89 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short ‘the Act’) instead of section 90 of the Act amounting to Rs.4,92,346/-. The assessee also filed Form 67 declaring income from outside India amounting to Rs.22,35,787/- and claimed foreign tax credit outside India amounting to Rs.4,92,346. Thereafter, CPC has passed intimation order on 22.03.2022 disregarding the relief u/s 89 of the Act amounting to Rs.4,92,346/- and intimating impugned demand of Rs.5,91,100/- which included interest u/s 234A/234B/234C. In response to the said intimation, assessee filed rectification request u/s 154 of the Act on 20.06.2022 for recertification of mistake. Thereafter, CPC has processed rectification request with demand order amounting to Rs.5,91,000/- on 20.06.2022. Aggrieved against the above order, assessee preferred an appeal before 3. the ld. JCIT (A). Ld. JCIT (A) observed that the intimation u/s 143(1) was passed on 22.03.2022 while the appeal was filed on 15.09.2022 belatedly. Ld. JCIT (A), relying on various judgments, held that the delay in fling the appeal is not condoned as no “sufficient cause” has been shown for the assessee’s failure to file the appeal within the prescribed period of limitation, hence the appeal sought to be instituted belatedly is hereby not admitted and accordingly dismissed as not maintainable.

Aggrieved against the above order, assessee is in appeal before us.

Considered the rival submissions and material placed on record. After going through the submissions made by the assessee before us and in the interest of justice, we are of the considered view that the delay in filing the appeal before the ld. CIT (A) is to be condoned and the matter is to be remitted back to ld. CIT (A). Accordingly, we condone the delay in filing the appeal and remit the matter back to ld. CIT (A) to decide afresh, after giving adequate opportunity of being heard. We also direct assessee to make proper submissions and appear before the ld.CIT (A) on the date of hearing and cooperate with the tax authorities. Accordingly, the appeal filed by the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.