TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (8) TMI 619
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....robabilities, and facts and circumstances of the Appellant's case. 2. The Appellant denies himself liable to be assessed to the net tax liability of Rs. 14,18,873/- as against the returned net tax liability of Rs. 10,03,571/- under the facts and circumstances of the case. 3. The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) erred in law and on facts in dismissing the appeal solely on the grounds of delay in filing the appeal, without appreciating that the appellant had sufficient and reasonable cause for the delay, on the facts and circumstances of the case. 4. The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) failed to appreciate that the appellant had reasonable causes for not filing the appeal on time before the learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and therefore, dismissal of appeal without hearing the same on merits of the case is bad in law on the facts and circumstances of the case. 5. The learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) is not justified in not condoning the delay of 1,856 days in filing the appeal before the learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) without appreciating the fact that the appellant has reasonable cause....
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....orm does not extinguish the substantive right of claiming the credit of Foreign Tax Credit. 15. The learned authorities below are not justified in levying interest under section 234B and 234C of the Act and further the calculation of interest under section 234B and 234C of the Act is not in accordance with law since the rate, method of calculation, quantum is not discernible from the order of assessment on the facts and circumstance of the case. 16. The appellant craves leave to add, alter, modify, delete or substitute any or all of the grounds and to file a paper book at the time of hearing the appeal. 17. In view of the above and other grounds that may be urged at the time of the hearing of the appeal, the Appellant prays that the appeal may be allowed in the interest of justice and equity. 3. Briefly stated, the assessee filed his return of income for assessment year 2018-19, which was processed under section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 by the Central Processing Centre, resulting in a demand of Rs.4,76,970. The dispute arose because the assessee claimed relief under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement in respect of taxes paid in Germany o....
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....epresentative, Shri Monish Sowkar, Advocate, filed a paper book comprising 87 pages and relied on several judicial precedents to support the claim for foreign tax credit despite the alleged non-filing or delayed filing of Form No. 67. He referred to the condonation petition filed before the learned CIT(A), placed at page 34 of the paper book, and the submissions filed before him at pages 30 to 33. His principal contention was that the assessee, who was employed with SAP Germany, received a stock option plan payout of EUR17,120.27, which was duly disclosed in the return of income for the relevant assessment year as long-term capital gain. Tax of EUR5,943, equivalent to Rs.4,15,302, was paid in Germany, and the assessee was entitled to foreign tax credit under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Germany. However, the actual Indian tax liability on such long-term capital gain was approximately Rs.2,64,430, and the relief allowable under the treaty was limited to that amount. Due to inadvertence, the assessee claimed the entire German tax of Rs.4,15,302 as foreign tax credit in the return instead of the correct amount of Rs.2,64,413 and subsequently deposited the ....
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....cessing Centre did not grant credit for the foreign tax paid, although Form No. 67 had been filed. The intimation was issued on 28 February 2019. The assessee filed the appeal against that intimation only on 29 April 2024, resulting in a delay of five years and one month. The reasons for the delay, as stated by the assessee, have been discussed by the learned CIT(A) in his order and have also been noted by us. The assessee attributed the delay partly to personal difficulties, partly to the COVID-19 pandemic, partly to glitches on the income tax portal, and partly to the complexity of the tax issue involved. We find that it is not unusual for a taxpayer to face difficulty in dealing with such circumstances, particularly when personal problems, the COVID-19 pandemic, portal-related issues, and the complexity of the tax matter coincided. In fact, the assessee had initially claimed the entire foreign tax paid in Germany, though only proportionate relief was allowable. The assessee has accepted this position and now seeks only proportionate tax relief. It is also not disputed that Form No. 67 was on record. The only issue is whether the learned CIT(A) was justified in refusing to condon....