In a recent ruling, the Lucknow bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee and condoned the 2564-day delay in filing the appeal, as no undue benefit will be gained by not appealing against an assessment or other order passed under the Income Tax Act.
In this case, there was a delay in filing the appeal before the ITAT. The assessee submitted that the previous counsel, Mr. R.R. Jain, had expired on 21.04.2021, and as per the advice of the previous counsel, the assessee was pursuing its remedy in the wrong forum.
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It was observed by the ITAT bench that there was a bona fide and reasonable cause for the assessee in not filing the appeal before the ITAT within the time allowed under the Income Tax Act, 1961, as the assessee was pursuing alternate remedies available under the Income Tax Act and appeared before the AO for consequential assessment proceedings.
The tribunal was of the opinion that the assessee’s failure to file an appeal or pursue an alternative remedy under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, cannot be considered as negligence, as there was no undue benefit to be gained by not appealing against an assessment or related order.
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The ITAT bench also observed that the AO conducted an inquiry and took a plausible view on the issue, and the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax’s ( PCIT ) invocation of revisional jurisdiction was invalid, as the assessment officer’s ( AO ) inquiry was sufficient. Therefore, the bench observed that the PCIT’s action was without jurisdiction, and the order under Section 263 was set aside.
The ITAT bench, comprising Mr. Anadee Nath Misshra ( Accountant Member ) and Mr. Subhash Malguria, allowed the appeal filed by the assessee.
The assessee was represented by Mr. Swaran Singh and the respondent by Smt. Namita S. Pandey
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