Madan Lal Aggarwal HUF Vs DCIT (ITAT Chandigarh)
The appeal was filed by Madan Lal Aggarwal HUF against the order of the Ld. CIT(A)-3, Gurgaon dated 05/11/2021 for Assessment Year 2017-18. The Registry pointed out a delay of 350 days. The assessee explained that its appeals, along with 22 related family-member appeals, had been pending before the CIT(A); that no manual copy of the appellate order was received; that the order uploaded on the portal was not noticed under the impression that the appeal remained pending; and that Shri Madan Lal Aggarwal, the Karta supervising the matters, suffered prolonged illness and died on 09.08.2022. The new Karta stated that the order was noticed while checking the portal in January 2023 and the appeal was filed thereafter. The Tribunal accepted the explanation as reasonable cause and, in the interest of substantial justice, condoned the delay and admitted the appeal on merits. The assessee had relied on Improvement Trust Ludhiana Vs. Ujagar Singh & Ors and other decisions on condonation of delay.
The substantive dispute concerned cash deposits made after demonetization. The assessee had deposited Rs. 21,00,000/- between 09.11.2016 and 31.12.2016 in its bank accounts and explained that the deposits arose from day-to-day cash sales. The Assessing Officer considered Rs. 4,00,000/- of the cash sales genuine and treated the balance Rs. 17,00,000/- as unexplained cash credits under Section 68, with the amount brought to tax under Section 115BBE. The CIT(A) confirmed the addition.
