ITAT Condones 96-Day Delay, Sends Case Back to CIT(A) for Decision on Merits:

ITAT Condones 96-Day Delay, Sends Case Back to CIT(A) for Decision on Merits The appeal has been filed by Smt. Malleshwari Naramulla Ranga Reddy in the ITAT Hyderabad, challenging an order dated June 25, 2025, passed by the CIT(A)/NFAC Delhi. The case is related to the assessment year 2016-17. The assessee was dissatisfied with the impugned order because the CIT(A) had dismissed her appeal merely because it was filed late, without looking into the merits of the case. The appeal filed before CIT(A) was late by 96 days. The CIT(A) did not even hear the arguments and examine the facts of the case; it just refused to condone the delay and rejected the assessee's appeal. Ruled in favour of the Assessing Officer (AO).

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The assessee, therefore, filed the current appeal before ITAT Hyderabad and explained the reason behind the delay. She asserted that she is educated only up to 7th standard and is unaware of the online income-tax procedures. Since she did not receive the assessment order in physical form, she was unaware of the order until she received a show-cause notice (SCN) imposing a penalty. Thereafter, she immediately filed an appeal after consulting a tax professional. The tribunal found the reasons behind the delay as valid and reasonable and therefore accepted the appeal of the assessee. The tax department also did not strongly object to the delay being condoned and agreed that the matter could be sent back to the CIT(A) for a decision on the merits. Since the delay was due to genuine reasons and not intentional, the Tribunal condoned the 96-day delay.

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As the CIT(A) had dismissed the appeal only on technical grounds (delay) and had not decided the case on merits, the tribunal set aside that impugned order. Sent the case back to the CIT(A) for fresh consideration of the case on merit after giving the assessee a fair opportunity. Finally, the ITAT allowed the appeal for statistical purposes.