C.I. Builders (P.) Ltd. Vs PCIT (Madhya Pradesh High Court)
Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed an income tax appeal filed by C.I. Builders (P.) Ltd., upholding the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Indore Bench’s decision to refuse condonation of a significant delay—ranging from six to over seven years—in filing appeals for Assessment Years 2010-11 and 2012-13. The court’s ruling, delivered on January 23, 2024, emphasized the assessee’s lack of diligence and responsibility for overseeing their tax affairs, despite arguments attributing the delay to a previous legal counsel.
The case originated from assessment orders passed on March 18, 2013, and March 25, 2015, for the respective assessment years. The company subsequently filed appeals before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals-I), Bhopal. These initial appeals, however, were dismissed ex-parte on December 31, 2015, and March 21, 2017, as no one appeared on behalf of C.I. Builders during their hearing.
C.I. Builders contended that their engaged advocate, Shri Ashwini Rinva, failed to respond to hearing notices for the CIT(A) appeals, leading to their ex-parte dismissal. Furthermore, the company asserted that it had provided necessary documents to Shri Rinva to file the second appeals before the ITAT but that he failed to comply. It was only when a new counsel, Shri Rakesh K. Mangal, was engaged in 2023 that the company allegedly discovered the appeals had not been filed, resulting in a delay of seven years and 104 days for one appeal and six years and 83 days for the other. Applications for condonation of delay were filed before the ITAT, arguing that the delay was solely due to the professional’s negligence, for which the company should not be penalized.
