The Chennai bench of The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) dismissed the income tax appeal, citing no bonafide cause for the 1040-day delay in filing.
The Counsel for the assesse T. Vasudevan, had committed to filing a petition for the condonation of the 1040-day delay in filing appeals, citing the petitioner’s severe health issues over two years. The appeals were scheduled for a hearing on 09.11.2013. On that date, counsel Vasudevan had presented a petition and affidavit explaining the delay, emphasizing the petitioner’s health challenges and the impact of the COVID-19 period. Despite the due date of 18.12.2020, the ongoing pandemic had hindered timely filing.
The petitioner, affected by persistent ill-health, had submitted the appeals on 25.07.2023, causing a 1040-day delay, reduced to 421 days when excluding the COVID-19 period. Counsel Vasudevan had urged, in the interest of justice, for the condonation and admission of the appeals, supported by a medical certificate dated 08.11.2023.
The Counsel for the Respondent P. Sajit Kumar, opposed the petition submitted by the assessee for the condonation of delay, arguing that the reasons provided by the appellant to file the appeal beyond the specified date lacked merit. Even if the assumption were made that the appellant’s claim of suffering from various ailments was valid, counsel Kumar contended that she should have submitted a petition along with an affidavit explaining the reasons for the delay when filing the appeal before the Tribunal. He emphasized that the medical documents, including a doctor’s certificate, should have been related back to the appeal’s filing date.
However, the assessee submitted a medical certificate dated 08.11.2023, which counsel Kumar asserted was vague and general, lacking specific observations regarding the mentioned ailment. Consequently, he urged that the delay in filing the appeals should not be condoned.
After hearing both parties and reviewing the appellant’s petition for the condonation of the delay in filing appeals,
The bench carefully considered the reasons presented by the assessee for the 1040-day delay. Although the appellant categorized the delay into two parts, pre-COVID and post-COVID, the overall delay stood at 1040 days. The appellant acknowledged receiving the CIT (A)’s order on 20.07.2020, and the appeals should have been filed by 18.09.2020. However, the appellant submitted the appeals on 25.07.2023, with a 1040-day delay. Claiming ill-health as the reason, supported by a medical certificate from Dr. M. Elangovan dated 08.11.2023, the appellant argued for the condonation of the delay in the interest of substantial justice.
The two member bench of the tribunal comparing Manomohandas (Judicial member) and Manju Natha G. (Account member) observed that after a thorough evaluation, it was determined that the assessee did not present a reasonable and bona fide cause to condone the 1040-day delay in filing these appeals. As a result, the appeals filed by the assessee for all three assessment years were dismissed as unadmitted.
In the result, the appeals filed by the assessee for all three assessment years were dismissed
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