District Magistrate Vs ITO (TDS) (ITAT Delhi)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Delhi has condoned a significant delay of 350 days by the District Magistrate (DM), Budaun, in filing an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)]. The case involved a tax liability of ₹8,13,688 imposed under Section 206C(6A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for Assessment Year 2010-11, related to the failure to collect Tax Collected at Source (TCS).
The order imposing the liability was passed by the ITO-TDS, Moradabad, on March 31, 2017. The District Magistrate’s office subsequently faced a substantial delay in filing the appeal. Before the CIT(A), the assessee attributed the delay to the fact that the order was served on the DM’s office but was not promptly conveyed to the Mining Officer, Mr. Narendra Kumar. The Mining Officer reportedly became aware of the order in September 2017. Further delays were cited due to the time consumed in the empanelment and appointment of legal counsel, as well as the procedure for online registration for filing the appeal.
The assessee’s submission to the CIT(A) detailed that Mr. Narendra Kumar, who joined as Mining Officer in January 2017, was on medical leave and rejoined in March 2017. During a meeting with the ITO (TDS), he learned about various pending TCS cases related to the Mining Office, Budaun, prompting him to search for all received notices and judgments at both the DM’s office and his own. The absence of empaneled or appointed counsel for tax matters at the DM Compound, Budaun, further exacerbated the delay in preparing and presenting the appeal.
