87-Year-Old Taxpayer Filed Appeal 460 Days Late Due to Health Issues; ITAT Condones Delay and Restores Matter to CIT(A)

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Mumbai held that principles of natural justice should override technical requirements. So, the ex parte order passed by the CIT(A) was set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication.

The assessee Mr Anthony P. Lewis filed an appeal before the ITAT Mumbai against the order passed by the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) dated June 11, 2024. But there was a delay of 460 days in filing the appeal before the Tribunal. The assessee submitted that he is around 87 years of age and had been suffering from several age-related ailments. Owing to his deteriorating health and medical treatments, he could not attend to tax matters within the prescribed time.

Assessee further submitted that he is not compatible with electronic communications and depended upon his Chartered Accountant for handling income-tax compliances. A medical certificate that proved the treatment since May 2024 was also placed on record. The Revenue did not file any counter-affidavit to counter the submissions made by the assessee.

The Bench observed that the expression “sufficient cause” deserves liberal interpretation to advance the cause of natural justice. The Tribunal noted that the assessee had properly explained the circumstances leading to the delay and there was nothing on record to suggest any negligence. The Tribunal further observed that the lapse on the part of the assessee for circumstances beyond the control of the assessee should not result in the denial of justice.

The Tribunal found that the order had been passed ex parte and held that the principles of natural justice were violated. Accordingly, the order of the CIT(A) was set aside and the matter was restored to the file of the first appellate authority.

Accordingly, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes and the Tribunal condoned the delay of 460 days and admitted the appeal.