2011 (5) TMI 658 - AT - Income Tax

Condonation of delay - appeal against Penalty levied u/s 271(1)(c) - delayed of 22 months - Held that - Considering as husband of the assessee expired & assessee was passing through a lot of difficulty in managing her affairs after the death of her husband, thus reason for delay appears to be reasonable one - in favour of appellant

Summary

Issues: Delay in filing appeal, violation of principles of natural justice, imposition of penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961

In this case, the assessee filed an appeal for the assessment year 2001-02 against the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-XIV, Kolkata. The grounds of appeal included the violation of natural justice in the assessment order, the failure to condone the delay in filing the appeal, and the imposition of a penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The delay in filing the appeal was attributed to the death of the assessee's husband, causing difficulties in managing affairs. The Departmental representative opposed condoning the delay. The Tribunal found the reason for delay to be reasonable due to the circumstances faced by the assessee after her husband's death. Consequently, the Tribunal directed the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) to condone the delay and proceed with deciding the appeal on its merits. As a result, the appeal of the assessee was treated as allowed for statistical purposes.