The Kerala High Court directed to consider delay condonation application for filing appeal as the stay petition was filed against the assessment order passed under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Against the assessment orders, for the assessment years 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2020-21, the petitioner has preferred the appeals before the 3rd respondent along with applications to condone the delay. The petitioner has also preferred the stay petitions.
Apart from the same, the petitioner has preferred the rectification applications against the assessment orders. The limited prayer of the petitioner in this writ petition is for consideration of the stay petitions.
The income tax department authorizes the Assessing Officer or Income Tax authority, not below the rank of an income tax officer, to conduct this assessment. The purpose is to ensure that the assessee has neither understated his income nor overstated any expense or loss nor underpaid any tax.
The CBDT has set certain parameters based on which a taxpayer’s case gets picked for a scrutiny assessment.
a. If an assessee is subject to a scrutiny assessment, the Department will send a notice well in advance. However, such notice cannot be served after the expiry of 6 months from the end of the Financial year, in which the return is filed.
b. The assessee will be asked to produce the books of accounts, and other evidence to validate the income he has stated in his return. After verifying all the details available, the assessing officer passes an order either confirming the return of income filed or making additions. This raises an income tax demand, which the assessee must respond to accordingly
A Single Bench of Justice Murali Purushothaman observed that “Since Exts.P4 to P6 are statutory appeals, there will be a direction to the 3rd respondent to consider the applications of the petitioner for condonation of delay in filing the appeal expeditiously. If the delay can be condoned, the stay petitions shall be considered expeditiously thereafter.”
“The entire exercise including the consideration of the applications for condonation of delay as well as the consideration of the stay petitions, in case the delay is condoned, shall be completed within a period of two months. With this direction, the writ petition is disposed of. The contention of the petitioner as regards rectification applications is left open” the Court noted.
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