Assessment Order Served via Email Landed in Spam Folder: ITAT Condones 191-Day Delay in Filing Appeal [Read Order]

The Pune Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) condoned a delay of 191 days in filing the appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] after noting that the assessment order had been served via email and had landed in the assessee’s spam folder, resulting in the delay.

Sarika Dadaso Zende, the assessee, is engaged in the business of providing manpower services and trading in housekeeping materials. She filed her return of income declaring Rs. 39.96 lakhs and later revised it to Rs. 15.70 lakhs for the Assessment Year 2020–21. The return was selected for scrutiny, and during assessment, the assessee claimed a deduction for service tax and interest totaling Rs. 26.32 lakhs under Section 43B of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

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The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed the claim, citing a lack of supporting documents and unclear linkage to earlier disallowed amounts. The AO further made a small addition of Rs. 3,998 as speculative income. The assessee failed to file an appeal within the statutory period and filed the same belatedly by 191 days before the CIT(A)/NFAC.

The CIT(A) rejected the appeal in limine on the grounds of delay, without adjudicating the case on merits. Aggrieved by this, the assessee approached the ITAT, seeking condonation of delay and restoration of the appeal.

The assessee submitted an affidavit explaining the delay, stating that the assessment order was served through email and landed in the spam folder. She only became aware of the order when a refund in the following year was withheld. Her previous tax consultant had withdrawn, and she was preoccupied with business obligations and managing over 1,500 employee payrolls. She argued that the delay was neither intentional nor due to negligence.

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The single-member bench comprising Dr. Manish Borad (Accountant Member) accepted the assessee’s explanation for the delay, holding it to be genuine and unintentional. The tribunal relied on precedents such as Vijay Vishin Meghani v. DCIT (Bombay High Court) and Anil Kumar Nehru v. ACIT (Supreme Court), explaining that technicalities should not override substantive justice. The tribunal found that the matter had not been adjudicated on merits and that the assessee had filed supporting documents before the ITAT, including bank certificates and computation records.

The tribunal set aside the CIT(A)’s order and remanded the matter for fresh adjudication with directions to provide the assessee adequate opportunity to present her case. The tribunal allowed the appeal for statistical purposes.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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