2013 (10) TMI 97 - HC - Income Tax

High Court dismisses appeal delay application under Income Tax Act due to significant delay; Counsel's personal difficulties cited.

The High Court of Calcutta dismissed the application for condonation of delay in filing an appeal under the Income Tax Act due to a significant delay of ... Delay in filing appeal - The time period prescribed under the Income Tax Act for filing an appeal is admittedly 120 days from the date on which the order appealed against is received – Held that:- The delay has not properly been explained - There is no whisper of what the departmental officers did between 18th April, 2006, when the judicial folder was allegedly handed over to Mr. Soumik Mukherjee for drafting the memorandum of appeal and stay petition and 14th January, 2011, when the judicial folder was allegedly returned to the Ministry of Law and Justice without the draft memorandum of appeal and the stay petition – For ends of justice looked into question involved, which is covered in favour of the assessee by a judgement and order dated 30th July, 2004 of a Division Bench of this Court in Commissioner of Income Tax vs. A.F.T. Industries Ltd. reported in [2004 (7) TMI 81 - CALCUTTA High Court] – Delay not condoned – Decided against the Revenue. Issues: Condonation of delay in filing an appeal under the Income Tax Act.The judgment by the High Court of Calcutta dealt with an application for condonation of delay in filing an appeal from an order of the Tribunal dated 27th December, 2005. The appellant received the order on 23rd January, 2006, and the appeal was required to be filed by 22nd May, 2006, as per the prescribed time period under the Income Tax Act. However, the appeal was filed on 13th May, 2013, resulting in a delay of more than seven years. The delay was attributed to the judicial folder being handed over to the Counsel for drafting the memorandum of appeal and stay petition on 18th April, 2006, but not being returned with the drafts until 14th January, 2011. The reason for the delay, described as personal difficulties faced by the erstwhile Advocate, was not specified in detail.Upon reviewing the judgment and order of the Tribunal, it was found that the question involved in the appeal was already decided in favor of the assessee by a Division Bench of the Court in a previous case. Consequently, the application for condonation of delay (G.A. No. 1493 of 2013) was dismissed. As a result of the dismissal of the condonation of delay application, the application for admission of the appeal (G.A. No. 1494 of 2013) was also dismissed. All parties were directed to act on a signed photocopy of the order on the usual undertakings, thereby concluding the legal proceedings related to the delay in filing the appeal under the Income Tax Act.