Pravin Kumar Balwant Birhade Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
Justice Over Technicality — 3,134-Day Delay Condoned
The ITAT Pune condoned an extraordinary delay of 3,134 days in filing the appeal, holding that the assessee had demonstrated sufficient and reasonable cause. The Tribunal accepted the plea that the assessment order dated 19.03.2015 was never served and that the assessee became aware of it only in 2025 upon communication from the Department. It observed that no assessee would gain by deliberately delaying an appeal and that procedural technicalities should not override substantial justice. Reliance was placed on the Supreme Court rulings in Collector, Land Acquisition v. Mst. Katiji and Inder Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh.
Further, the Tribunal noted that the CIT(A) dismissed the appeal in limine without adjudicating the merits and that the assessment itself was framed as a best judgment assessment under Section 144. In these circumstances, the impugned appellate order was set aside. The matter was remanded to the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer for de novo adjudication in accordance with law, with directions to the assessee to cooperate. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT PUNE
The captioned appeal at the instance of assessee pertaining to A.Y. 2012-13 is directed against the order dated 16.01.2025 of National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) Delhi passed u/s.250 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter also called ‘the Act’) arising out of Assessment Order dated 19.03.2015 passed u/s.144 of the Act.
