The Jharkhand High Court dismissed the department’s appeal, ruling that a delayed condonation application not filed with the appeal memo cannot rectify defects if submitted later.
The department sought to overturn the Judicial Member and Accountant Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Ranchi Bench, Ranchi’s order for various assessment years. The department argued that although the appeals were filed late, they intended to seek condonation of delay.
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Anurag Vijay appeared for the Appellant and Respondent was represented by Mahendra Choudhary.
Filed in 2020, the appeals saw no action to address the delay, prompting the department to request more time for condonation applications.
The respondent assessee maintained that the appeal should be accompanied by a condonation of delay application. They argued that by the time the appeal was filed, the appellant knew it was delayed. Despite court-granted time, the department failed to correct the defects highlighted by the Stamp Reporter or take steps to condone the delay, warranting rejection of the appeal.
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The court observed that even considering COVID-19, four years have passed without the department filing a condonation application.
Chief Justice B.R. Sarangi and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad noted that an appeal memo must include a delay condonation application at the time of filing. Subsequent submissions cannot address the defect.
The court emphasized that since the delay condonation application was not filed despite opportunities, the delay cannot be excused, making the appeals significantly time-barred.
Dismissing the appeal, Jharkhand High Court stated that the department’s failure to address the delay in a tax-related matter shifts responsibility onto itself.
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