Assessee Proves Absence from India: ITAT condones Delay in Appeal

The bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Amritsar, condoned the delay in filing an appeal after the assessee established her absence from India during the relevant period. The bench accordingly set aside the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] and remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh assessment under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The appellant, Inderjit Kaur, a senior citizen residing in Jalandhar, filed her return of income under Section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on July 26, 2016, declaring total income of ₹9,16,995, derived from the surrender of a Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance policy. Subsequently, the AO initiated reassessment proceedings under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act on March 31, 2021, and, in the absence of any response, determined the total income at ₹18.33 lakh, reiterating the same addition of ₹9,16,752.

The CIT(A), Delhi, which dismissed her appeal in limine, refusing to condone the delay of 146 days in filing. The assessee contended that she had been out of India from before the reassessment proceedings and only returned on August 22, 2022, after which she promptly filed the appeal on September 15, 2022.

Represented by Puneet Misser, the assessee submitted copies of her passport to establish her absence from India during the relevant period. She argued that she had not received any assessment-related notices as her registered e-mail address belonged to her insurance agent. It was contended that upon her arrival to India, she acted promptly to file the appeal.

Further, copies of her passport establishing her travel dates, Form 26AS, computation of income, and the original income tax return as evidence that the entire amount from the surrendered policy had already been disclosed and subjected to tax.

The Bench comprising of Judicial Member, Udayan Dasgupta and Accountant Member, Manoj Kumar Aggarwal held that the delay in filing the appeal was bona fide, as the appellant’s absence from India prevented her from responding to the reassessment proceedings. Therefore, condoned the delay of 146 days and remanded the matter to the jurisdictional AO for fresh assessment after verifying the return filed under Section 139(1) and the corresponding details in Form 26AS.

The Bench directed the AO to provide a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee and issue notices as per Section 282 of the Income Tax Act, with a copy marked to the assessee's advocate.

Thus, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.

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