Neelam Ajit Phatarpekar Vs ACIT (Bombay High Court)
The Bombay High Court addressed two Miscellaneous Civil Applications filed in connected Income Tax Appeals seeking condonation of delay in filing the appeals. The applicant, an assessee and legal heir of her late husband, contended that the delay of forty days in filing the appeals was bona fide since the certified copy of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s (ITAT) order dated 14 September 2016 was received only on 17 May 2024. One appeal was filed by the applicant in her individual capacity and another as legal heir of her deceased husband, both challenging the ITAT’s decision that had set aside the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)’s order and restored the Assessing Officer’s order.
The applicant argued that she was unaware of the ITAT’s 2016 order until April 2024, when she received a recovery notice for Assessment Year 2009–10. Upon learning of the order, she applied for and received the certified copy before filing the appeal. Her counsel contended that under Section 260A(2A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the High Court could admit an appeal even after the prescribed 120 days if there was sufficient cause for delay. He maintained that the delay was bona fide since the applicant’s husband, who had been managing the tax matters, passed away before the Tribunal’s decision, leaving her unaware of the proceedings’ outcome.
