The Madras High Court while upholding the condonation of delay by ITAT held that substantive right of appeal should not be denied to the assessees on technical grounds.
The issue involved in this case is as to whether the manual appeal filed by the assessee before the CIT(A) could have been reckoned as the proper filing of appeal on the ground that the e-appeal was filed much after the filing of the manual appeal.
The ITAT condoned the delay in filing of appeal even though the assessee had failed to file any petition for condonation of delay with proper explanation before the CIT(A).
The Revenue has filed this appeal by raising the following substantial questions of law that whether, on facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in condoning the delay in filing of appeal even though the assessee had failed to file any petition for condonation of delay with a proper explanation before the CIT(A).
The division bench of Justice T.S.Sivagnanam and R.N. Mnajula while dismissing the appeal of the revenue in the light of the decision in the case of CIT Vs. A.A.Antony & others noted that if Circular No. 20/2016 is made applicable, then, the time limit for filing the e-appeals stood extended up to June 15, 2016, and even going by the date for verification of e-appeals, it was made operational on May 12, 2016, for individuals, both these dates are well beyond the period of limitation in the case on the assessee.
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