Non-Consideration of Condonable Delay by ITAT: Kerala HC directs Tribunal to expeditiously dispose of Delay Condonation Application [Read Order]

The Kerala High Court has directed the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) to expeditiously dispose of the Delay Condonation Application, emphasizing the non-consideration of the condonable delay.

The appellant herein had approached the writ court against an order of the First Appellate Authority under the Income Tax Act, against which order they had preferred appeal, stay petition and delay condonation application before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.

The limited prayer in the writ petition was for a direction to the Appellate Tribunal to consider and pass orders on delay condonation application and to stay the recovery proceedings for recovery of amounts confirmed against the appellant by the first appellate order, till such time as the Tribunal had an occasion to consider and pass orders on the delay condonation application.

The Single Judge, proceeding on the assumption that the Appellate Tribunal did not have the power to condone the delay in question, though it appropriate to dismiss the writ petition.

Mr. Arjun Raghavan, representing the appellant, asserted that the Appellate Tribunal possesses the authority to condone the delay.

The division bench, comprising Justice A.K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Syam Kumar V.M, directed the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, where the appeal, stay petition, and delay condonation application filed by the appellant were pending, to consider and issue orders on delay condonation application within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. The recovery steps for the amounts confirmed against the petitioner by the orders of the first appellate authority shall be suspended until the Appellate tribunal passes orders on the delay condonation application as directed, and the order was communicated to the appellant. Consequently, it was deemed appropriate to allow the writ appeal by setting aside the impugned judgment of the Single Judge.

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