The Pune Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal(ITAT) allowed the delay in filing an appeal due to the pending rectification application and the impact of the COVID-19 period.
Pudumjee Paper Products Limited,appellant-assessee,is involved in manufacturing and selling pulp, paper, and trading hygiene products. It filed its return on October 4, 2018, reporting a total income of Rs. 9,17,46,840/- and tax payable of Rs. 3,03,34,258/-.
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The company also declared a book profit income of Rs. 26,99,27,039/- under Section 115JB, with tax payable at Rs. 5,76,06,748/-. The Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) processed the return under Section 143(1) and made certain disallowances, leading to a final determination of total income at Rs. 9,17,85,800/- on November 22, 2019.
The assessee filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals)[CIT(A)] on April 24, 2021, against the intimation. The appeal was dismissed due to being filed late, beyond the 30-day deadline from the November 22, 2019, order date. The assessee’s explanation of filing a rectification application was not accepted, as it did not prevent the appeal from being filed on time. Since no valid reason for the delay was provided, the appeal was rejected and dismissed without considering its merits.
Aggrieved by the decision the assessee appealed before the tribunal.
The two member bench comprising Rama Kanta Panda(Vice President) and Astha Chandra(Judicial Member) reviewed the arguments from both sides and the available record. It found that part of the delay in filing the appeal was due to the Covid-19 period, which should be excluded based on the Supreme Court’s rulings.
The appellate tribunal also noted that the assessee’s rectification application was pending when the order under Section 143(3) was passed, and the Assessing Officer(AO)used the income from the Section 143(1) order instead of the returned income.
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The ITAT agreed that there was a reasonable cause for the delay and decided to set aside the Additional/Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)[Addl./JCIT(A)] order. ITAT restored the issue to his file, directing him to condone the delay and decide the appeal on its merits.
In conclusion,the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed.
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