TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (7) TMI 461
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....h the delay of 1241 days. It was submitted that the parents of the assessee and his elder brother are residents of USA from June, 2017 to December, 2022. The assessee had to go to USA frequently to attend to the family affairs as well as illness of his father Sardar Kartar Singh which is evident from the copy of the his passport and the Visa stamps of departure and arrival. It was further submitted that after return from USA on 30.12.2022, the assessee had gone to his banker i.e. Bank of India, Jagraon in the first week of January, 2023 to carry out certain banking transactions and therein, he was informed that his bank account has been attached by the Income Tax Officer, Jagraon in terms of the order passed u/s 226(3). It was submitted that subsequently, the assessee sought the assistance of his Counsel and thereafter, on perusal of the IT Portal, it came to his notice that his appeal filed against the order passed by the AO dated 14.12.2018 has been dismissed ex parte by the ld. CIT(A), Ludhiana vide his order dated 10.07.2019. It was submitted that subsequently, the assessee with the assistance of his Counsel has filed the present appeal on 03.02.2023. 3. It was further submi....
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.... the appeal has been filed before the Tribunal on 03/02/2023. The explanation of the assessee therefore becomes relevant to determine whether the same reflects sufficient cause on his part in not presenting the present appeal within the prescribed time. 8. In the instant case, the assessee has contended that from July 2017 to December 2022, the assessee has been regularly travelling to USA to attend to his family affairs and to take care of his father who is not keeping well and is suffering from some illness and for the period he has spent in India, he is mostly confined to his village home due to spread of Covid pandemic and thus unable to attend to his tax affairs including the present appeal. It has been further contended that during this period, his bank account was also attached by the Revenue authorities and as soon as he was seized of this matter after enquiring from his banker and later on, consulting with his Counsel, he came to know that the order has been passed by the ld CIT(A) disposing off his appeal where the order passed by the AO has been confirmed and the tax demand has been sustained. It was submitted that as he was travelling to USA, he couldn't attend to th....
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....s further clarified that the period from 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022 shall also stand excluded in computing the periods prescribed under Sections 23 (4) and 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 12 A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and provisos (b) and (c) of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and any other laws, which prescribe period(s) of limitation for instituting proceedings, outer limits (within which the court or tribunal can condone delay) and termination of proceedings." In that view of the matter, the period from 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022 shall have to be excluded for the purposes of limitation as may be prescribed under any General or SPECIAL LAWS in respect of all judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings. The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 being a Special Law, the said order shall also be applicable with respect to the limitation prescribed under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 also. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above and more particularly when the 120 days period expired in the present case on 09.05.2020 which was during the aforesaid period as prescribed by this Court in the aforesaid order, the ....
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....herefore find that there are clearly latches and negligence on part of the assessee in not filing the present appeal within prescribed time frame. At the same time, we believe that where the assessee has come in appeal before this Tribunal, he deserves an opportunity to be heard on merits of his case before the matter is consigned to records. In Writ Petition No. 783 of 2012 in the case of Sanchit Software and Solutions Pvt. Ltd Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax and Others, Hon'ble Bombay High Court held that in any civilized system, the assessee is bound to pay the tax which he liable under the law to the Government. The Government on the other hand is obliged to collect only that amount to tax which is legally payable by an assessee. The entire object of the administration of tax is to secure the Revenue for the development of the country and not to charge assessee more tax than which is due and payable by the assessee. As held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, where substantial justice and technical considerations are pitted against each other, the cause of substantial justice deserved to be preferred. Therefore, in exercise of powers under section 253(5) of the Act and in interest....