2024 (8) TMI 1116 - AT - Income Tax

Condonation of delay - dismissal of assessee appeal against order passed u/s 250 on account of delay in filing - sufficient cause for condonation of delay exists or not? - as submitted assessee had filed an application u/s 154 of the Act for rectification and assessee was in the impression that since he has already filed rectification u/s 154 and unless it has been decided he is not entitled to file an appeal. HElD THAT - As D/R has been asked to submit before this Tribunal regarding the stage of the application u/s 154 - D/R has filed report and as per the report submitted by the ld. D/R, the rectification petition for AY 2019-20 has not been disposed off. Keeping in view the facts that the assessee against the order passed u/s 143(1) of the Act has already filed a rectification petition and that petition is yet not been disposed off. We are of this view that condonation petition should be allowed by the ld. CIT(A) and decide the case on merit. Accordingly, the order of the ld. CIT(A) is hereby set aside and assessee has been given an opportunity to place the matter before the ld. CIT(A) as further directed to either he should dispose off the case on his own level or to direct to dispose off the application u/s 154 of the Act filed by the assessee within short period. Appeal filed by the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against order passed under section 250 of the Income Tax Act for Assessment Year 2019-20 dismissed due to delay in filing - Whether sufficient cause for condonation of delay exists.

Analysis:
The appeal was filed by the assessee against an order passed under section 250 of the Income Tax Act for the Assessment Year 2019-20. The appellant, a charitable trust engaged in educational activities, had filed a return of income showing total income as 'NIL'. However, the claim for deduction under section 11 of the Act was not allowed, resulting in the inclusion of a receipt of Rs. 20,96,936 in the total income. The appeal was dismissed by the ld. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-1, Jaipur, citing a delay in filing the appeal without sufficient cause for condonation of delay. The appellant contended that they had filed an application for rectification under section 154 of the Act and believed they could only appeal after its decision. The delay in filing the appeal was unintentional and bona fide according to the appellant's counsel.

Upon reviewing the impugned order, it was noted that the appeal was filed after a considerable delay from the date of the original order. The appellant had submitted an affidavit regarding the pending application under section 154 of the Act, stating that the delay was due to a bona fide mistake. The Departmental Representative (D/R) confirmed that the rectification petition for the relevant assessment year had not been disposed of. Considering these facts, the Tribunal found that the delay in filing the appeal should be condoned, and the case should be decided on its merits. The order of the ld. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) was set aside, and the appellant was given an opportunity to present the case before the ld. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) again. The ld. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) was directed to either decide the case or ensure the disposal of the application under section 154 of the Act promptly. Consequently, the case of the assessee was restored to the file of the ld. Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals).

As a result of the above analysis, the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes. The decision was pronounced in the open court on 21st August 2024.