ITAT Restores Thane Labour Law Practitioners Association’s Appeal for Merits:

The assessee is Thane Labour Law Practitioners Association which is an association of advocates and labour law practitioners, had filed its return of income for AY 2022-23 declaring nil income. The assessment was completed under Section 143(3) read with Section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961, determining total income at Rs. 5,84,423, after denying exemption under Sections 11 and 12 and making additions towards membership receipts, donations, interest income and other receipts.  

The assessee challenged the assessment before the CIT(A). However, the first appeal was filed on June 20, 2024, beyond the prescribed period. The CIT(A) treated the delay as 86 days and refused to condone it, holding that the assessee had failed to substantiate the delay on a day-to-day basis. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed without examining the substantive grounds on merits.  

Before the Tribunal, the assessee submitted that the delay was neither deliberate nor negligent. It explained that elections to the managing committee had been announced on March 28, 2024 and conducted on April 25, 2024, resulting in a transition of management. The assessee had also sought professional advice after receiving the assessment order and subsequently followed up with its Chartered Accountant for filing the appeal. An affidavit supporting the explanation was also furnished. 

The Tribunal held that the assessee had furnished a specific and bona fide explanation supported by an affidavit. The election, change in the managing committee, administrative handover and subsequent steps taken to pursue the appeal, when considered cumulatively, constituted sufficient cause. The Tribunal further held that the requirement of explaining delay cannot be applied mechanically by insisting upon a separate account of every individual day when the material sequence of events sufficiently explains the circumstances. 

Accordingly, the Tribunal condoned the delay of 86 days and set aside the CIT(A)'s order dated January 5, 2026. The appeal was restored to the CIT(A) for adjudication on merits, with directions to consider the assessee's submissions and evidence and pass a reasoned order after providing reasonable opportunity of being heard.