Angkur Moulik Vs ITO (ITAT Kolkata)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata, considered an appeal against the order of the Addl./JCIT(A) for Assessment Year (AY) 2019-20, which had dismissed the assessee’s appeal solely on the ground of a 1,542-day delay in filing.
The assessee had originally filed a return declaring an income of ₹17,67,480. While processing the return under Section 143(1), the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) made an upward adjustment of ₹63,22,992 under Section 143(1)(a), increasing the assessed income to ₹82,10,470. According to the assessee, the intimation was never physically received, and the tax demand came to his knowledge only in April 2025, following which he filed an appeal before the Addl./JCIT(A).
The Addl./JCIT(A) examined the communication records available on the income tax portal and found that the intimation, as well as the proposed adjustments under Section 143(1)(a), had been successfully delivered through email, post, and SMS. Since the assessee failed to establish sufficient cause for the prolonged delay, the appellate authority rejected the condonation application, treated the appeal as non-existent in law, and dismissed it without examining the merits.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee relied on an affidavit stating that the registered email ID and mobile number belonged to his former tax consultant, who had handled his tax compliances and was no longer associated with him after the COVID period. The affidavit further stated that although the intimation was purportedly delivered in January 2021, during the COVID pandemic, the consultant never forwarded it to the assessee. The assessee also stated that he first became aware of the intimation when his accountant accessed the income tax portal in the last week of April 2025.
