Facts of the Case

The assessee, Jamshed Alam, filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi, against the assessment order for Assessment Year 2018-19. The CIT(A) dismissed the appeal solely on the ground of a delay of 66 days in filing the appeal, without adjudicating the issues on merits. Aggrieved by the dismissal, the assessee filed an appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata.

Issues Involved

Whether the delay of 66 days in filing the appeal before the CIT(A) was liable to be condoned in view of the Supreme Court’s suo motu directions extending limitation periods due to COVID-19, and whether dismissal of appeal on limitation alone without adjudication on merits was sustainable in law.

Petitioner’s Arguments

The assessee submitted that the delay occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic period and was fully covered by the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Miscellaneous Application No. 21 of 2022 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020 dated 10.01.2022. It was argued that the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 stood excluded for the purpose of limitation and therefore the delay deserved to be condoned. The assessee prayed that the matter be restored to the file of the CIT(A) for adjudication on merits.

Respondent’s Arguments

The Revenue, represented by the CIT-DR, did not object to the condonation of delay and fairly agreed that the matter could be restored to the file of the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication in accordance with law.

Court Order / Findings

The ITAT Kolkata noted that the CIT(A) had dismissed the appeal purely on account of a delay of 66 days. The Tribunal referred to the binding directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020, as reiterated in Miscellaneous Application No. 21 of 2022, wherein the entire period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 was directed to be excluded for computing limitation in all judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings. Applying the said directions, the Tribunal held that the delay of 66 days was liable to be condoned. Since the appeal had been dismissed on limitation alone, the Tribunal restored the issues to the file of the CIT(A) for adjudication on merits after granting adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee.

Important Clarification

The Tribunal clarified that the COVID-19 related limitation extensions granted by the Supreme Court are binding on all authorities and must be applied liberally to advance substantial justice. Appeals should not be dismissed on technical grounds of delay when the delay stands covered by the Supreme Court’s exclusion orders.

Final Outcome

The delay of 66 days in filing the appeal before the CIT(A) was condoned. The appeal was partly allowed for statistical purposes, and the matter was restored to the file of the CIT(A), NFAC for fresh adjudication on merits after providing adequate opportunity of hearing to the assessee

Source Link- https://itat.gov.in/public/files/upload/1767001738-X4w4ZT-1-TO.pdf

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