Nitinbhai Ranchabhai Dhakecha Vs ITO (ITAT Rajkot)
This summary relates to the appeal filed by Nitinbhai Ranchabhai Dhakecha (the assessee) against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC/Ld. CIT(A)), which upheld an assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer (AO) under section 143(3) read with section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) for the assessment year 2007-08.
Appeal and Condonation of Delay
The appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Rajkot, was initially time-barred by 109 days. The assessee’s Authorized Representative (AR) submitted an application, supported by an affidavit, for the condonation of the delay. The reasons cited were that the appellate order was uploaded on the web-portal, and the appellant was unaware as he had not received any email intimation. The assessee learned about the order in the last week of October 2023 when his tax consultant logged into the web portal for filing the return of income for the A.Y. 2023-24. The consultant advised him to meet with the previous counsel, and the file was later handed over to another counsel on November 16, 2023, for preparing the appeal.
The Senior Departmental Representative (Sr. DR) for the revenue relied on the Ld. CIT(A)’s order, noting that the order was served through the IT Portal but did not object to the prayer for condonation of delay. The ITAT condoned the 109-day delay, finding it was not a “deliberated action” and that there was a “sufficient cause” for the delay, concluding that the assessee should be given an opportunity to explain his case, and directed that the appeal be heard on merit.
