Tribunal allows delay in filing appeals, emphasizes Revenue's duty to guide, remits for decision

The Tribunal condoned the delay in filing 19 appeals against orders by the CPC, Bangalore, due to valid reasons provided by the assessee, including lack of awareness of electronic system changes and family/business issues. The appeals were remitted back to the ld.CIT(A) for a decision on merits after finding the delay justifiable. The Tribunal emphasized the Revenue's duty to guide assessees during system changes and allowed the appeals for statistical purposes, with the decision issued in Chennai on December 27, 2019.

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Issues:
Delay in filing appeals against the orders passed by the CPC, Bangalore U/s. 200A for various quarters in the assessment years 2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16.

Analysis:
The assessee filed 19 appeals belatedly, citing reasons for the delay ranging from 807 to 1567 days. The MD explained that the delay was due to not being aware of the change to e-system of service, family and business problems, and the recovery notice manually received in March 2019. The ld.CIT(A) dismissed the appeals for lack of supporting material. The assessee sought condonation of delay and a decision on merits. The ld.AR argued that proper opportunity was not given, and the Revenue had not taken steps to collect the demand before March 2019. Relying on legal precedents, the delay was requested to be condoned for justice to be served.

The ld. DR supported the ld.CIT(A)'s decision, referring to a notification on electronic service of notices. According to the ld. DR, the date of transmission of the order to the assessee is deemed as the date of service. The ld. DR upheld the ld.CIT(A)'s orders based on this premise.

The Tribunal considered the submissions and found the reasons for delay provided by the assessee to be reasonable. The MD was unaware of the electronic communications due to various issues and took immediate steps upon manual receipt of the recovery notice. The Tribunal noted the lack of further communication from the Revenue till March 2019. Condoning the delay, the appeals were remitted back to the ld.CIT(A) for a decision on merits after providing an opportunity to the assessee.

The Tribunal emphasized that in cases of system changes, like from manual to electronic, the Revenue should guide assessees to comply effectively. As the Revenue had not used other modes of communication, the Tribunal found the reasons for delay reasonable. Consequently, the delay in filing the appeals was condoned, and the appeals were remitted back to the ld.CIT(A) for further consideration.

In conclusion, all the appeals were partly allowed for statistical purposes, with the decision pronounced on December 27, 2019, in Chennai.

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