Delay Due to COVID, Counsel's Demise Accepted: ITAT Restores Assessee’s Appeal:

Delay Due to COVID, Counsel's Demise Accepted: ITAT Restores Assessee's Appeal The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Chennai 'D' Bench, has given relief to the assessee in a long-pending income tax dispute for the assessment year 2015-16. S. Marimuthu (Assessee) has filed the present case against the Asst Commissioner of Income Tax (Respondent), challenging an order of the CIT(A) dated June 16, 2023.

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Background of the case

The assessee had originally filed his income tax return in April 2016, declaring a total income of Rs 4.72 lakh. Later, his case was selected for limited scrutiny. During the assessment, the Assessing Officer found that long-term capital gains had not been reported and added Rs 2,03,13,155 to his income in an order passed in December 2017. Being aggrieved by the AO's decision, the assessee then approached CIT(A). However, the CIT(A) dismissed the appeal and upheld the addition made by the AO due to non-response to multiple notices. The assessee then approached the ITAT, but there was a delay of 883 days in filing the appeal. During the hearing, the AR argued that he became aware of the appellate order only after receiving a recovery notice. Furthermore, the assessee also mentioned that the initial notice from the CIT(A) was issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and that his earlier authorised representative had passed away in February 2022, which affected proper follow-up of the case.

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On the other hand, the tax department opposed the plea. However, after considering all the facts, the Tribunal observed that there was sufficient cause for the delay. In the interest of justice, it condoned the 883-day delay and admitted the appeal. The Tribunal set aside the order of the CIT(A) and sent the case back for fresh consideration. The Tribunal further directed the appellate authority to provide a fair opportunity of hearing to the taxpayer. As a result, the appeal has been allowed for statistical purposes.