Pudumjee Paper Products Limited Vs ACIT (ITAT Pune)
ITAT Pune held that delay in filing of an appeal before CIT(A) needs to be condoned firstly by excluding COVID-19 pandemic outbreak period and further since rectification application was pending before CPC. Accordingly, delay condoned for reasonable cause shown and matter restore back to CIT(A).
Facts- The assessee is engaged in the business of manufacturing and sale of pulp, paper and of trading, marketing of paper and hygiene products. The CPC while processing the return of income u/sec.143(1) made certain disallowances and an order was passed u/sec.143(1) of the Act dated 22.11.2019 determining the total income at Rs.9,17,85,800/- under normal provisions.
CIT(A) dismissed the appeal on account of delay in filing of an appeal. Being aggrieved, the present appeal is filed.
Conclusion- Held that a part of the delay is to be condoned which was during the Covid period and has to be excluded from the total number of days of delay. Further, it is also an admitted fact that against the intimation passed by the CPC, the assessee filed a rectification application which was pending till the time of passing of the order u/sec.143(3) and the Assessing Officer in the order passed u/sec.143(3) has started computation portion on the basis of the total income as per order u/sec.143(1) of the Act dated 22.11.2019 and not as per the returned income. Under these circumstances, we find merit in the arguments advanced by the Learned Counsel for the Assessee that when the rectification application was pending before the CPC and the Assessing Officer completed the assessment taking the figure of income determined as per the order u/sec.143(1) dated 22.11.2019, therefore, when the assessee filed an appeal before the Addl./JCIT(A), he should have condoned the delay since there was a reasonable cause for not filing the appeal in time. We, therefore, set aside the order of the Addl./JCIT(A) and restore the issue back to his file with the direction to condone the delay and decide the appeal on merit.
