The Kolkata Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal( ITAT ) remanded the case of the Sikkimese assessee to the Assessing Officer ( AO ) for reconsideration of her tax exemption claim under Section 10(26AAA) of the Income Tax Act,1961.
Usha Dhamala,appellant-assessee, filed her return on 26.03.2018 with a Nil income. Her case was selected for scrutiny, and notices were issued under sections 143(2) and 142(1). Due to her non-compliance with these notices, the AO added Rs. 19,02,36,848/- to her income under section 69A of the Act.
The assessee being aggrieved by the assessment order of the AO appealed before the Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals)[CIT(A)] which upheld the AO’s decision. Hence, the appeal was filed before the tribunal.
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The Authorised Representative (AR) informed the Bench that the appeal was delayed by 279 days due to the assessee’s personal circumstances. She had been on bed rest during her pregnancy in August 2021 and later focused on childcare and postpartum recovery, which prevented her from responding to communications from the Income Tax department. An application explaining these reasons was submitted. After considering the explanation, the tribunal condoned the delay and proceeded to hear the appeal on its merits.
During the hearing, the assessee counsel contended that,assessee being a Sikkimese individual, was eligible for tax exemption under section 10(26AAA) of the Act, and the required certificate had been submitted. However, the AO did not consider this claim. The counsel requested that the case be remanded to the AO for reconsideration of the exemption.
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The two member bench comprising Sonjoy Sarma ( Judicial Member ) and Sanjay Awasthi ( Accountant Member ) agreed with the AR’s argument and remanded the case to the AO for a fresh examination and directed the AO to reconsider the exemption claim under section 10(26AAA) and allow the assessee to submit supporting evidence. The assessee was also instructed to provide all necessary documents without delay.
Ultimately, the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes.
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