2014 (6) TMI 151 - HC - Income Tax

Admission of appeal - Rejection of condonation of delay Held that - One of the ground involves a major amount of a sum of Rs.3.45 crores approximately - The deletion made by the CIT(A) CIT(A) was of the view that the assessee is a Government of India Enterprise - There are regular checks and unrecorded sale is not possible AO has not brought any evidence on record or instance of unrecorded sale - Since the appeal is not admitted, any opinion is not being expressed - facts and circumstances appearing from the records are enough as to why should the Court to be refrained from admitting the appeal Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Delay in filing appeal by Revenue under section 260A of the Income Tax Act.
2. Merits of the grounds of appeal by the Revenue.
3. Deletion of expenses and additions made by the Assessing Officer.

Delay in Filing Appeal:
The judgment and order dated 26th July, 2013 by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal due to a delay of 62 days, citing the Supreme Court's decision in the case of office of the Post Master Vs. Living Media India Ltd. The Revenue challenged this decision under section 260A of the Income Tax Act. The appellant's counsel referred to a judgment in the case of Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd., emphasizing that cases involving significant tax amounts should be decided on merits rather than dismissed solely based on delay.

Merits of Grounds of Appeal:
The grounds of appeal by the Revenue included challenges to the deletion of expenses and additions made by the Assessing Officer. Notably, Ground No.V involved a substantial amount of approximately Rs.3.45 crores. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeal) had deleted this amount based on the reasoning that the Assessing Officer's estimation of gross profit was presumptive, and unrecorded sales were not feasible for a Government company. The Assessing Officer's additions were primarily based on stock shortages of Iron Ore and Sponge Iron, assuming unrecorded sales, which led to the computation of gross profit added to the total income.

Deletion of Expenses and Additions:
The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeal) had deleted various expenses and additions made by the Assessing Officer after considering the nature of the business, regular checks, and lack of evidence of unrecorded sales by the appellant, a Government company. The judgment refrained from expressing any opinion on the appeal, citing the facts and circumstances on record as sufficient reason for dismissal. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, rendering the connected application infructuous and disposed of accordingly.

This detailed analysis of the judgment highlights the issues of delay in filing the appeal, the merits of the grounds of appeal, and the deletion of expenses and additions by the Assessing Officer, providing a comprehensive overview of the legal complexities involved in the case.