SALTORA STONE CRUSHER OWNERS-WELFARE ASSOCIATION,SALTORA, BANKURA vs. I.T.O., WARD - 3(1), BANKURA, BANKURA

This is the appeal preferred by the assessee against the order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)- PCIT, Asansol [hereinafter referred to as ‘Ld. PCIT’] dated 30.12.2021 passed u/s 263 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for the assessment year 2017-18.

2 AY: 2017-18 Saltora Stone Crusher Owners-Welfare Association 2. At the outset we note that there is a delay of 253 days in filing the appeal. We note that the assessee is a welfare association of Saltora Stone Crusher Owners. It was brought to our notice that the tenure of office bearers had expired and nobody took initiative to attend income tax proceedings. It was also pointed out that due to the COVID pandemaic , all the activities of association had totally come to a stand-still and the operations of the association were totally in disruption and no one was there to attend the day today matters. It was also stated that it is only in the month of December, 2022 that a Counsel of the assessee was instructed to look after and attend the income tax proceedings and accordingly the appeal documents were prepared and the appeal was filed. The Ld. Counsel of the assessee prayed before us that the delay in filing the appeal is neither intentional nor deliberate and the assessee is not going to be benefitted by the said delayed filing of appeal in any manner. Considering all these facts , we are of the opinion that there are reasons for the said delay which the assessee has explained. In our opinion , the assessee should not be suffer to technicalities of the matter as the assessee should get opportunity to be heard as has been decided by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Mst. Katiji & Ors. reported in (1987) 2 SCC 107 (SC) wherein it has been held that the substance must prevail over the technicalities. Accordingly we are inclined to condone the delay and admit the appeal for adjudication.

3 AY: 2017-18 Saltora Stone Crusher Owners-Welfare Association 5. Considering these facts, we are of the view that the appeal of the assessee needs to be restored to the file of AO so that the assessee could be heard on merits and the case be decided de novo. Accordingly we restore the issue back to the file of AO with the direction to decide the same afresh after affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee.