Shrirang Dattatraya Altekar Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
The case of Shrirang Dattatraya Altekar vs. Income Tax Officer (ITAT Pune) centered on an appeal against the CIT(A)’s order, which dismissed the assessee’s appeal due to a delay in filing. The underlying issue stemmed from an Assessing Officer’s addition of Rs. 20 lakhs to the assessee’s income, deemed an unexplained fixed deposit. The initial assessment arose from information received by the Income Tax Department indicating that the assessee had sold property and made significant fixed deposits. The Assessing Officer, believing income had escaped assessment, issued notices under sections 147 and 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The assessee provided submissions, but the Assessing Officer proceeded to add the unexplained deposit to the assessee’s total income, along with salary income, resulting in a total assessed income of Rs. 20,92,367.
The assessee’s appeal to the CIT(A) was filed with a delay of 558 days, a portion of which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CIT(A) acknowledged the Supreme Court’s directives regarding the extension of limitation periods during the pandemic and excluded 468 days from the delay. However, the CIT(A) did not condone the remaining 45 days of delay and dismissed the appeal as time-barred. The assessee subsequently appealed this decision to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The ITAT, after reviewing the case, noted that the assessee had provided detailed reasons for the delay. Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Collector, Land Acquisition vs. MST Katiji, the ITAT emphasized that substantial justice should prevail over technical considerations. The Tribunal concluded that dismissing a case due to a non-deliberate delay could result in a miscarriage of justice. Therefore, the ITAT set aside the CIT(A)’s order, directed the CIT(A) to condone the 45-day delay, and instructed the CIT(A) to decide the appeal on its merits, ensuring the assessee received a fair hearing. The ITAT allowed the assessee’s grounds for statistical purposes.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT PUNE
