M/s Senior Quality Assurance Estt L&S C/O OCF, Chandigarh V. DCIT, CPC (TDS), Vaishali

ITA 1069/CHANDI/2018

• Counselvise Citation: [2019] 118 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 4311 (ITAT-CHANDIGARH)
• Duration Of Justice: 5 month(s) 29 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 11-02-2019
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: misc
• Appeal Filed On: 13-08-2018
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: TO; MANJIT SINGH SR DR ITA NOS
• Assessee Lawyers: SHASHANK GUPTA
• Keywords: Bonafide belief; Period of limitation; Time period of passing order; Condonation of delay; TDS

Judgement Text

, , IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DIVISION BENCH, B, CHANDIGARH , ! . .., # $, %& BEFORE SHRI SANJAY GARG, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND DR. B.R.R. KUMAR, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ./ ITA NOS. 1069 & 1070/CHD/2018 / ASSESSMENT YEARS : 2014-15 & 2015-16 M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L & S,C/O OCF CHANDIGARH THE DCIT/ACIT, CPC(TDS), VAISHALI, GHAZIABAD ./PAN NO. / TAN NO: PTLS19454B APPEAL AGAINST THE ORDER OF CIT(A)-1, CHANDIGARH DATED 31.5.2018 ./ ITA NOS. 1093 TO 1094/CHD/2018 / ASSESSMENT YEARS : 2013-14 & 2014-15 M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L & S,C/O OCF CHANDIGARH THE DCIT, CPC(TDS), VAISHALI, GHAZIABAD ./PAN NO. / TAN NO: PTLS19454B APPEAL AGAINST THE ORDER OF CIT(A)-1, CHANDIGARH DATED 31.5.2018 ./ ITA NOS. 1095 TO 1097/CHD/2018 / ASSESSMENT YEAR : 2015-16 M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L & S,C/O OCF CHANDIGARH THE DCIT/ACIT, CPC(TDS), VAISHALI, GHAZIABAD ./PAN NO. / TAN NO: PTLS19454B APPEAL AGAINST THE ORDER OF CIT(A)-1, CHANDIGARH DATED 31.5.2018 & ./ ITA NO. 1098/CHD/2018 / ASSESSMENT YEAR : 2014-15 M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L & S,C/O OCF CHANDIGARH THE ACIT, CPC(TDS), VAISHALI, GHAZIABAD ./PAN NO. / TAN NO: PTLS19454B APPEAL AGAINST THE ORDER OF CIT(A)-1, CHANDIGARH DATED 31.5.2018 / APPELLANT /RESPONDENT ! /ASSESSEE BY : SH. SHASHANK GUPTA, CA ' ! / REVENUE BY : SH. MANJIT SINGH, SR DR ITA NOS. 1069 & 1070, 1093 TO 1098-C-18- M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L&S, CHANDIGARH 2 # $ % /DATE OF HEARING : 28.01.2019 &'() % / DATE OF PRONOUNCEMENT : 11.02 .2019 %'/ ORDER PER SANJAY GARG, JUDICIAL MEMBER: THESE BUNCH OF APPEALS HAVE BEEN PREFERRED BY THE S AME APPELLANT AGAINST THE RESPECTIVE ORDERS OF THE COMMISSIONER O F INCOME TAX (APPEALS)-1, CHANDIGARH [HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS CIT(A)]. 2. SINCE THE SIMILAR ISSUE IS INVOLVED IN ALL THESE APPEALS, HENCE, THESE WERE HEARD TOGETHER AND ARE BEING DISPOSED OF BY TH IS COMMON ORDER. 3. IT IS OBSERVED THAT ITA NOS.1093 TO 1098/CHD/201 8 (06 APPEALS) ARE BARRED BY LIMITATION PERIOD OF 11 DAYS. A SEPARATE APPLICATION / AFFIDAVIT FOR CONDONATION OF DELAY HAS BEEN FILED BY THE LD. COUNSEL FOR THE ASSESSEE, WHEREIN, DETAILED REASONS FOR DELAY IN FI LING THE APPEALS HAVE BEEN FURNISHED. IT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED THAT INITIAL LY THE ASSESSEE HAD FILED TWO APPEALS WITH THIS TRIBUNAL I.E. ONE APPEAL PER ASSESSMENT YEAR INVOLVED. HOWEVER, ON PERUSAL OF THE APPEALS, THE R EGISTRY POINTED OUT TO THE ASSESSEE THAT IN THIS CASE 08 APPEALS WERE REQU IRED TO BE FILED I.E. ONE APPEAL EACH AGAINST THE DEMAND OF FEE U/S 234E OF T HE ACT FOR EACH OF THE QUARTER. HENCE, IN THIS PROCESS THE DELAY OF 11 DAY S HAD OCCURRED. 3. CONSIDERING THE ABOVE SUBMISSIONS OF THE ASSESSE E AND ALSO CONSIDERING THE SHORTNESS OF THE DELAY PERIOD I .E. 11 DAYS, WE CONDONE THE DELAY IN FILING THESE APPEALS . ITA NOS. 1069 & 1070, 1093 TO 1098-C-18- M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L&S, CHANDIGARH 3 4. THE APPELLANT / PERSON RESPONSIBLE IN THIS CASE HAS CONTESTED THE RAISING OF THE DEMAND ON ACCOUNT OF LATE FILING FEE S FOR DIFFERENT QUARTERS IN THE INTIMATION SENT U/S 200A OF THE INCOME-TAX ACT , 1961 (IN SHORT 'THE ACT'). 5. AT THE OUTSET, LD. COUNSEL FOR THE ASSESSEE HAS INVITED OUR ATTENTION TO THE IMPUGNED ORDERS OF THE CIT(A) IN THIS RESPEC T TO STATE THAT IN ALL THE ORDERS, THE LD. CIT(A) HAS DISMISSED THE APPEALS OF THE APPELLANT BEING BARRED BY LIMITATION AND THAT THE ISSUES ON MERITS HAVE NOT BEEN DISCUSSED IN ANY OF THE APPEALS BY THE LD. CIT(A). THE LD. CO UNSEL HAS FURTHER INVITED OUR ATTENTION TO THE AFFIDAVIT OF LT. COL N EERAJ KUMAR SINGH, A RESPONSIBLE OFFICER OF THE APPELLANT, WHEREIN, THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EVENTS AND THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE BEEN STATED BE CAUSE OF WHICH THE APPEALS COULD NOT BE FILED WITHIN THE LIMITATION PE RIOD BEFORE THE LD. CIT(A). THE INFORMATION MADE IN THE AFFIDAVIT HAVE BEEN FURTHER CORROBORATED BY VARIOUS LETTERS / CORRESPONDENCES E NTERED INTO BY THE APPELLANT WITH THE CONCERNED ASSESSING OFFICER TO S HOW THAT THE APPELLANT WAS IN REGULAR CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CONCERNED AS SESSING OFFICER UNDER THE BONAFIDE BELIEF THAT THE ASSESSING OFFICER WAS EMPOWERED TO CONDONE THE DELAY / WAIVE OF THE LATE FEE. IT HAS ALSO BEEN PLEADED THAT THE APPELLANT BEING A DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT, MINISTRY OF DEFE NCE, THERE WAS NO INTENTION TO VIOLATE OR IN ANY MANNER NOT TO COMPLE TE THE STATUTORY DUTIES OR OTHERWISE. EVEN THE AFFIDAVIT IS OF A SENIOR LEVEL DEFENCE SERVICES OFFICER, WHEREIN, THE DETAILS OF ALL THE CORRESPONDENCE AND THE REASONS FOR THE DELAY IN FILING THE APPEALS BEFORE THE LD. CIT(A) HAVE B EEN DULY EXPLAINED. ITA NOS. 1069 & 1070, 1093 TO 1098-C-18- M/S SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ESTT, L&S, CHANDIGARH 4 6. CONSIDERING THE ABOVE AFFIDAVIT ALONG WITH VOLUM INOUS DOCUMENTS, WHICH HAVE BEEN CORROBORATED WITH THE OFFICIAL COPI ES OF THE LETTERS /OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE, WE ARE OF THE VIEW, THAT THE SAME CONSTITUTE A SUFFICIENT CAUSE FOR NON-FILING OF THE APPEALS WITH IN THE LIMITATION PERIOD AND THAT THE DELAY, IF ANY, IN FILING THESE APPEALS WAS REQUIRED TO BE CONDONED. WE, THEREFORE, SET ASIDE THE ORDERS OF TH E CIT(A) AND CONDONE THE DELAY, IF ANY, IN FILING THESE APPEALS BEFORE T HE LD. CIT(A) AND RESTORE THE MATTER TO THE FILE OF THE CIT(A) TO DECIDE THES E APPEALS ON MERITS AFTER DULY CONSIDERING THE SUBMISSIONS / EVIDENCES AS MAY BE FURNISHED BY THE APPELLANT IN THESE APPEALS. IN THE RESULT, ALL THE APPEALS OF THE ASSESSEE ARE ALLOWED FOR STATISTICAL PURPOSES. SD/- SD/- ( . . , # $ / B.R.R. KUMAR) %& / ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ( / SANJAY GARG ) / JUDICIAL MEMBER DATED : 11.2.2019 .. '+ ,- .- / COPY OF THE ORDER FORWARDED TO : 1. / THE APPELLANT 2. / THE RESPONDENT 3. # / / CIT 4. # / ( )/ THE CIT(A) 5. -01 2 , % 2 , 34516 / DR, ITAT, CHANDIGARH 6. 15 7$ / GUARD FILE '+ # / BY ORDER, 8 ' / ASSISTANT REGISTRAR