2024 (4) TMI 936 - AT - Income Tax

Delay in filling of an appeal before ITAT - delay of eight years, eighty-eight days - HELD THAT - Assessee does not have sufficient reason for such a huge delay of eight years eighty-eight days. In this case, assessee failed to file Return of Income for A.Y. 2015-16, therefore, Department issued notice u/s 148 on 30.03.2022. One of the issues in the re-assessment proceedings was non-availability of registration under section 12AA of the Act. Assessee in the affidavit had admitted that at that point of time, assessee realized about rejection of 12AA application in 2014. Even after that assessee had filed appeal before this Tribunal on 09.03.2023 i.e. after a gap of one year. Thus, even after realizing the fact, assessee delayed filing of appeal by one year. The procedure for registration u/s 12AA was amended by Finance Act, 2020. Accordingly, assessee had applied for provisional registration and it was granted to assessee on 24.09.2021 for A.Y. 2022-23 to A.Y. 2024-25. Thus, even at the time of applying for provisional registration under the amended scheme, assessee failed to realize that assessee s application for registration under 12AA was rejected on 11.11.2014. Chronology of these events explain that assessee was callous and not serious towards the registration. As assessee s application for condonation of delay is rejected. Accordingly, appeal is dismissed on the ground of delay.

Summary

Issues involved:
The issues involved in this case are the rejection of registration under section 12A, violation of principles of natural justice, delay in filing the appeal before ITAT, and the application for condonation of delay.

Rejection of registration under section 12A:
The appeal was filed against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Nagpur, rejecting the Assessee's application for registration under section 12A. The Assessee contended that the Commissioner should have granted registration as per the application filed on 08.05.2014. The Assessee argued that the rejection was unjust as all relevant material for registration was already on record. It was further contended that the order was in violation of principles of natural justice as the Assessee was not given a reasonable opportunity. The Tribunal noted that the order of rejection was based on the non-appearance of the Assessee on a specific date, which was considered unjust, especially when all relevant material was on record.

Delay in filing the appeal before ITAT:
The order of the Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Nagpur was served on the Assessee on 14.11.2014, and the time limit to file the appeal before ITAT was within 60 days from the date of service of the order. However, the Assessee filed the appeal on 09.03.2023, resulting in a delay of eight years and eighty-eight days. The Assessee provided reasons for the delay, citing issues related to the filing of the return of income for A.Y. 2015-16 and the realization of the rejection of the 12AA application in 2014 during reassessment proceedings. The Tribunal observed that the Assessee's reasons for the significant delay were not sufficient and that the Assessee had shown a lack of seriousness towards the registration process.

Application for condonation of delay:
The Assessee filed an affidavit along with a condonation application explaining the reasons for the delay in filing the appeal. The Tribunal noted that the Assessee's reasons, as stated in the affidavit, did not provide a satisfactory explanation for the delay. The Tribunal referred to a case where the Supreme Court refused to condone a delay of 565 days, emphasizing the importance of complying with the law of limitation. Following this precedent, the Tribunal rejected the Assessee's application for condonation of delay and dismissed the appeal on the grounds of delay, ultimately upholding the dismissal of the Assessee's appeal.