Taxpayer Unable to Sign Appeal Does Not Constitute Reasonable Cause : ITAT Refuses to Condone 1,233 Days Delay [Read Order]

The Cochin Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) refused to condone the delay, and held that the unavailability of the taxpayer to sign appeal documents due to absence from station was insufficient to constitute a "reasonable cause."

Saida, proprietor of Saida Trading Co., (assessee) the appeal arose from an order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], dated 05.02.2025, which upheld the assessment order for the assessment year 2015-16.

Aggrieved by the order of CIT(A), the assessee filed an appeal before the ITAT. The assessee submitted a condonation application on the letterhead of M/s. K. Venkatachalam Aiyer & Co,.

The application stated that the delay occurred because the assessee, required to sign the appeal documents. But the assessee was absent from the station and could not be contacted. The application stated no further reasons or supporting affidavits were provided.

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The two-member bench comprising Inturi Rama Rao (Accountant Member) and Prakash Chand Yadav (Judicial Member) observed that the condonation application lacked sufficient cause to justify the inordinate delay of 1,233 days.

The Tribunal observed that the reason provided in the application, which was also unsupported by an affidavit, did not meet the threshold of "reasonable cause" required for condonation.

The Tribunal relied on judicial precedents, including the Supreme Court’s ruling in H. Gurusswamy v. A. Krishna, which held that the power to condone delay must be exercised based on the facts of the case without frustrating the law of limitation.

The bench also relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Moel Chandra v. Union of India which highlighted that the cause of the delay rather than the length of delay should be considered for condonation of the appeals.

Additionally, the Tribunal relied on the Commissioner, Nagar Parishad, Bhilwara v. Labour Court, Bhilwara which held that negligence by the appellant justifies upholding the refusal to condone delay. The bench observed that the assessee’s explanation did not constitute a sufficient cause for condonation of the appeal.

The Tribunal held that the power to condone delay cannot be exercised in the absence of a reasonable cause. It dismissed the appeal as it was barred by the limitation. The appeal of the assessee was dismissed.

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