Failure of CA and Advocate not Attributable to Delay of 2655 Days in Appeal Filing: ITAT holds Assessee Negligent [Read Order]

The Kolkata Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) recently dismissed an appeal filed with a delay of 2655 days, maintaining that the onus for ensuring timely filing of appeal does not lie on the Chartered Accountant or Advocate of the Petitioner-Assessee.

The Assessee, Sumita Roy Chowdhury had filed her returns of income for the Assessment Year (A.Y.) 2009-10 declaring NIL income. The same was selected for scrutiny under Computer Assisted Scrutiny Selection (CASS) and notices under Section 132(2) and 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were issued to the Assessee.

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The concerned Assessing Officer (AO) was under the impression that the Assessee had defectively claimed deduction under Section 80IB with the same being communicated to the Assessee in a letter dated 17.11.2011 leading to a Show-Cause Notice (SCN). Owing to no compliance from the Assessee, Assessment was completed under Section 144 and penalty proceedings were initiated under Section 271(1)(b) of the Act.

In Appeal, the Commissioner of Income Taxes (Appeals) ( CIT(A) ) granted the Assessee with twelve opportunities to present her case, none of which were availed by the assessee to appear or file written submissions, leading to the dismissal of her appeal on December 30, 2016. Now, the Assessee is in appeal before ITAT.

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The assessee, represented by Mahadev Ghosh, contended before the ITAT that the delay in filing the appeal was due to the failure of her previous counsels. She claimed to have initially entrusted the appeal to Advocate Tapas Kumar Majumder, who failed to act on it. Subsequently, in May 2018, she engaged Chartered Accountant (FCA) Ashok Chatterjee, who also failed to file the appeal.

The appeal was ultimately filed only in 2024 with a delay of 2655 days, after her case was taken over by a new advocate. The assessee submitted affidavits from both her previous counsels, asserting that the delay was beyond her control and sought condonation.

Additional CIT, Departmental Representative Nicholash Murmu contested the plea of condonation, stating that the Assessee had been given twelve opportunities by the CIT(A) in the first appellate stage, the non-compliance of which portrays a clear lack of diligence.

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The Bench of Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-President (KZ) noted that mere delegation of responsibility to a legal representative does not absolve an assessee from ensuring timely action. Referring to the affidavits submitted, the ITAT pointed out that even after handing over the case to Advocate Ashok Chatterjee in 2018, there was no follow-up until 2024, indicating a complete lack of diligence.

The Tribunal further noted that the assessee had shown similar negligence before the CIT(A), despite being granted twelve adjournments and that the delay of 2655 days could not be attributed to her counsels. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal for condonation in limine.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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