2018 (9) TMI 1407 - AT - Income Tax

Condonation of delay - appeal of the assessee against the levy of late filing fee u/s 234(E) was dismissed at the admission stage on account of delay in filing the appeal - bonafide explanation for delay - Held that - The present appeal relates to intimation passed u/s 200A of the Act dated 25th December 2013 and undisputedly at that point in time the said intimation was not appealable before the ld. CIT(A) u/s 246A of the Act. Thereafter w.e.f 01.06.2015 the said intimation issued u/s 200A has been made appealable hence when there is no provision to file an appeal against a particular intimation the assessee cannot be expected to approach the CIT(A) who would have rejected the appeal for want of necessary jurisdiction. The assessee in his affidavit has submitted that he has sought the advice of the Tax Consultants and initially he had advised there was no provision to file an appeal and subsequent in November 2016 he advised the assessee that provisions have now been provided in the statue to file such an appeal and thereafter the assessee has filed the present appeal on 22.11.2016. The said explanation of the assessee in delay in filing the appeal is a bonafide explanation and we see no reasons to see any malafide in the same. The assessee has relied on the advise of his Chartered Accountant and an affidavit in this regard has been filed by the assessee which is not disputed by the Revenue we find that there is a reasonable cause for the delay in filing the appeal by the assessee before the ld. CIT(A). The Courts have also held from time to time that merely technicality should not come in the way of discharge of substantial justice - We accordingly condoned the delay in filing the appeal and the matter is set aside to the file of the ld. CIT(A) who shall adjudicate the matter on merit - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against levy of late filing fee u/s 234(E) dismissed due to delay in filing the appeal.

Analysis:
The appellant filed an appeal against the levy of late filing fee u/s 234(E) for A.Y. 2012-13, which was dismissed at the admission stage by the Ld. CIT(A) due to a delay in filing the appeal. The intimation u/s 200A of the Act was issued, and a late filing fee u/s 234E was imposed for the 4th quarter of FY 2012-13. The appellant filed an appeal with a condonation petition, stating unawareness of the appealability of the intimation order u/s 234E. The condonation application was rejected by the Ld. CIT(A), citing lack of genuine cause for the delay, leading to the dismissal of the appeal at the admission stage.

The appellant argued that initially, the Tax Consultant advised against filing an appeal as there was no provision for it. Later, the Consultant informed about the appeal provisions effective from 01.06.2015, prompting the appellant to file the appeal. The appellant contended that the delay was due to the absence of appeal provisions initially and subsequent statutory changes, which constituted a reasonable cause for the delay. The appellant sought condonation of the 1008-day delay and requested the matter be remanded to the Ld. CIT(A) for a merit-based decision.

The Tribunal noted that at the time of the intimation in 2013, it was not appealable under u/s 246A of the Act. However, post 01.06.2015, the intimation became appealable. Considering the appellant's reliance on the Tax Consultant's advice and the subsequent statutory changes, the delay was deemed reasonable. The Tribunal cited the principle that technicalities should not impede substantial justice, referencing a Supreme Court decision. The delay in filing the appeal was condoned, and the matter was remanded to the Ld. CIT(A) for a merit-based decision after providing a reasonable opportunity to the appellant.

In conclusion, the appeal by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes, emphasizing the importance of substantial justice and reasonable causes for delays in legal proceedings.