JAI KANKARIA FOUNDATION,KOLKATA V. ITO, WARD 1(1), EXEMPT, KOLKATA

ITA 2146/KOL/2025

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The case involves Jai Kankaria Foundation, which appealed against the order of the ld. Addl/CIT(A)-7, Delhi, which had dismissed their appeal due to a delay of 28 days. The tribunal considered the impact of COVID-19 on the legal proceedings and the Supreme Court's decision to exclude certain periods from limitation calculations. The main legal issue was whether the delay in filing the appeal should be condoned and whether the nature of the donations received by the trust was correctly classified for tax exemption purposes. The tribunal decided to condone the delay and restore the matter to the Assessing Officer for further verification regarding the nature of the donations.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 789848 (ITAT-KOLKATA)
• Duration Of Justice: 2 month(s) 1 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 24-11-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: misc
• Appeal Filed On: 22-09-2025
• Other Referred Cases: Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No.3 of 2020
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: S ANDEEP KUMAR MEHTA
• Assessee Lawyers: SOUMITRA CHOUDHURY
• Keywords: Period of limitation; Time period of passing order
• Section: 12A

Judgement Text

" IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “B” BENCH, KOLKATA BEFORE SHRI GEORGE MATHAN, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND SHRI RAKESH MISHRA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER आयकर अपील सं/ITA No.2146/KOL/2025 (निर्धारण वर्ा / Assessment Year : 2019-2020) Jai Kankaria Foundation 5, Middleton Street, Kolkata Vs CPC, Bangalore/ ITO Ward-1(1), Exempt, Kolkata PAN No. :AAATJ 2147 F (अपीलधर्थी /Appellant) .. (प्रत्यर्थी / Respondent) निर्धाररती की ओर से /Assessee by Shri Soumitra Choudhury and Shri Pranobesh Sarkar, Advocates रधजस्व की ओर से /Revenue by : Shri Sandeep Kumar Mehta, Sr. DR सुनवाई की तारीख / Date of Hearing : 24/11/2025 घोषणा की तारीख/Date of Pronouncement : 24/11/2025 आदेश / O R D E R Per George Mathan, JM : This is an appeal filed by the revenue against the order of the ld. Addl/CIT(A)-7, Delhi, dated 14.07.2025 for the assessment year 2019-2020 2. It was submitted by the ld. AR that the appeal of the assessee has been dismissed by the ld.CIT(A) on account of delay of 28 days. In this regard, ld. AR drew our attention to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Miscellaneous Application No.21 of 2022 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No.3 of 2020, dated 10.01.2022, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed to exclude the period of limitation for the period as mentioned in the said judgment on account of Covid-19. The relevant observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court are as under :- 4. The present Miscellaneous Application has been filed by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association in the context of the spread of the new variant of the COVID-19 and the drastic surge in the number of COVID cases across the country. Considering the prevailing conditions, the applicants are seeking the following: Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.2146/KOL/2025 2 i. allow the present application by restoring the order dated 23.03.2020 passed by this Hon'ble Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) NO. 3 of 2020; and ii. allow the present application by restoring the order dated 27.04.2021 passed by this Hon'ble Court in M.A. no. 665 of 2021 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) NO. 3 of 2020; and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper. 5. Taking into consideration the arguments advanced by learned counsel and the impact of the surge of the virus on public health and adversities faced by litigants in the prevailing conditions, we deem it appropriate to dispose of the M.A. No. 21 of 2022 with the following directions: I. The order dated 23.03.2020 is restored and in continuation of the subsequent orders dated 08.03.2021, 27.04.2021 and 23.09.2021, it is directed that the period from 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022 shall stand 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. II. Consequently, the balance period of limitation remaining as on 03.10.2021, if any, shall become available with effect from 01.03.2022. III. In cases where the limitation would have expired during the 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022, period between notwithstanding the actual balance period of limitation remaining, all persons shall have a limitation period of 90 days from 01.03.2022. In the event the actual balance period of limitation remaining, with effect from 01.03.2022 is greater than 90 days, that longer period shall apply. IV. It is 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 12A 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. 3. Thus, the ld. AR submitted that the delay of 28 days in filing the appeal before the ld.CIT(A) may kindly be condoned and the assessee may Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.2146/KOL/2025 3 kindly be given one more opportunity to represent its case before the Assessing Officer. 4. In reply, ld. Sr. DR did not object to condone the delay. Ld. Sr. DR also agreed that issue may be restored to the file of Assessing Officer for verification as to whether the claim of the assessee trust in respect of donation is general donation or corpus donation. 5. We have considered the rival submissions. A perusal of the order of the ld. CIT(A) shows that the appeal of the assessee has been dismissed on account of delay of 28 days. However, in view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, referred to supra, we condone the delay of 28 days in filing the appeal by the assessee trust before the ld.CIT(A). In regard to claim of the assessee, as the issue is in regard to an intimation u/s.143(1) of the Act, the issue in this appeal is restored to the file of ld. Assessing Officer for verification as to whether the exemption claimed by the assessee trust in respect of donation is general donation or corpus donation. If it is corpus donation, then no addition shall be made. 6. In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order dictated and pronounced in the open court on 24/11/2025. Sd/- (RAKESH MISHRA) Sd/- (GEORGE MATHAN) लेखा सदस्य/ ACCOUNTANT MEMBER न्यधनयक सदस्य / JUDICIAL MEMBER कोलकाता Kolkata; ददनाांक Dated 24/11/2025 Prakash Kumar Mishra, Sr.P.S. Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.2146/KOL/2025 4 आदेश की प्रनतललपप अग्रेपर्त/Copy of the Order forwarded to : आदेशधिुसधर/ BY ORDER, (Assistant Registrar) Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata 1. अपीलार्थी / The Appellant- 2. प्रत्यर्थी / The Respondent- 3. आयकर आयुक्त(अपील) / The CIT(A), 4. आयकर आयुक्त / CIT 5. विभागीय प्रविविवि, आयकर अपीलीय अविकरण, कोलकाता / DR, ITAT, Kolkata 6. गार्ड फाईल / Guard file. सत्यापपत प्रतत //True Copy// Printed from counselvise.com "