Appeal Dismissed for Delay; Negligence Criticized; Order Published Online

The High Court dismissed the appeal challenging the ITAT order due to limitation. The ITAT criticized the Assessing Officer's negligence in not filing the Remand Report and failing to act. The delay in filing the appeal was deemed unjustified, leading to its dismissal. Despite court directions, the appellant failed to file the condonation of delay application, resulting in the appeal's dismissal for default and non-prosecution. The Court ordered the order's publication on the website and sent a copy to the counsel via email.

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Issues:
Challenge to ITAT order on ground of limitation, Observations against conduct of Assessing Officer, Rejection of application for condonation of delay by ITAT, Failure to file application for condonation of delay before High Court, Dismissal of appeal in default and non-prosecution.

Analysis:
The High Court heard an appeal challenging the ITAT order dated 20th April, 2018, which dismissed the appellant's appeal due to limitation. The ITAT made observations against the conduct of the Assessing Officer, highlighting negligence in not filing the Remand Report and failing to take necessary actions. The ITAT also noted the lack of sufficient cause for the delay in filing the appeal, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal as time-barred. The question of law proposed by the revenue pertained to the rejection of the application for condonation of delay in filing the appeal under section 253 of the Act. Despite directions from the Court to file the application for condonation of delay, the appellant failed to do so even after several adjournments and nineteen months. The appellant's counsel made efforts to obtain the application but faced delays from the Assessing Officer and ITO Headquarters. The Court observed that despite ITAT's remarks, no progress was made in filing the application for condonation of delay before the Tribunal. Consequently, the Court dismissed the present appeal due to default and non-prosecution, ordering the upload of the order on the website and forwarding a copy to the counsel via email.

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