Khambhat Taluka Sarvajanik Kelavani Mandal Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
ITAT Ahmedabad held that delay of 477 days in filing of an appeal on the reason that there was gross negligence on the part of the accountant is not condonable since negligence of accountant not sufficient shown for cause.
Facts- The assessee has preferred the present appeal, however, with a delay of 477 days. The assessee has filed a condonation application along with an affidavit explaining the reason for the delay. The assessee submitted that the delay in filing the appeal was due to gross negligence of the accountant.
Conclusion- Held that there was gross negligence on the part of the assessee and it didn’t exercise any care to enquire about the status of the second appeal and merely tried to shift the responsibility on his accountant. On the other hand, the accountant has only owned up the responsibility for the ex-parte order of the CIT(A) and has not acknowledged any delay on his part for filing the present appeal. Since the assessee has failed to properly explain the reason for delay in filing the present appeal, we don’t find any ground to condone the delay and consequently, the appeal of the assessee is dismissed as time barred.
