Premalatha Pagaria Vs ITO (Karnataka High Court)
The Karnataka High Court has allowed an appeal filed by an individual assessee, Premalatha Pagaria, setting aside an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order that had dismissed her appeal due to a 350-day delay. The High Court, in its judgment delivered on June 19, 2025, ruled that the assessee had demonstrated “sufficient cause” for the delay, remitting the matter back to the Tribunal for a decision on the merits.
The case pertains to the Assessment Year 2009-10. Premalatha Pagaria had initially filed her income tax return declaring a total income of Rs. 4,24,480/-. However, an intimation under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, dated June 24, 2010, was issued by the Assessing Officer (AO), assessing her income at Rs. 9,14,040/- and raising a demand of Rs. 1,44,170/-.
Following this, the assessee filed a rectification request under Section 154 of the Act, which was rejected by the Assistant Commissioner of Income-Tax, CPC, Bengaluru, on February 7, 2011. A subsequent rectification application on April 11, 2011, was also rejected on September 16, 2011.
The critical procedural lapse occurred when the assessee filed an appeal against the rejection of the Section 154 application on November 29, 2012, accompanied by an application for condonation of delay. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (CIT(A)), by an order dated September 3, 2015, rejected the application to condone the delay. This led the assessee to file an appeal before the ITAT.
