https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=795925 Delay caused by tax communications being sent to a consultant who was severely affected by COVID-19 and later died may be condoned where the assessee did not deliberately default. Substantial justice should prevail over technical limitation objections when no material establishes wilful delay. Where a penalty order was passed ex parte and the first appellate authority rejected the appeal only as time-barred without examining the grounds, the penalty dispute should be restored for fresh adjudication on merits after providing reasonable opportunity. No conclusion is reached on the validity of the penalty itself. en-us Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:21:50 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=795925 Delay caused by tax communications being sent to a consultant who was severely affected by COVID-19 and later died may be condoned where the assessee did not deliberately default. Substantial justice should prevail over technical limitation objections when no material establishes wilful delay. Where a penalty order was passed ex parte and the first appellate authority rejected the appeal only as time-barred without examining the grounds, the penalty dispute should be restored for fresh adjudication on merits after providing reasonable opportunity. No conclusion is reached on the validity of the penalty itself. Case-Laws Income Tax Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=795925