2012 (5) TMI 659 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues involved: Appeal against order of CIT(A) for assessment year 1997-98 regarding belated filing of appeal.

Summary:
The appeal was filed by the assessee against the order of the CIT(A) V, Hyderabad for the assessment year 1997-98, with the main issue revolving around the timeliness of the appeal filing. The assessee contended that the appeal filed on 7.6.2004 was within time, considering the assessment order was received on 6.5.2004 and the subsequent days were holidays. The CIT(A) had presumed the order was served within a week, leading to the conclusion of late filing. The Revenue argued that the law of limitation cannot be disregarded on equitable grounds.

Upon hearing both parties and examining the facts, the Tribunal found that there was no proof of the assessment order being served on any specific day to the assessee. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Tribunal accepted the assessee's claim that the order was received on 6.5.2004. As 5th and 6th June, 2004 were holidays, the appeal filed on 7.6.2004 was deemed to be within time. The Tribunal held that the CIT(A) erred in dismissing the appeal based on the presumption of late filing and directed the matter to be reconsidered on its merits. Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes.

The order was pronounced in the Court on 31.5.2012.