JANATA SHIKSHAN SANSTHA,PUNE V. ITO EXEMPTION WARD-1, PUNE

ITA 522/PUN/2025

AI Insights

The case involves Janata Shikshan Sanstha, a trust running a school, which appealed against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi, concerning the assessment year 2012-13. The appeal was initially delayed by 183 days due to internal administrative issues and miscommunication regarding the signing authority for the appeal documents. The Tribunal, considering the merits of the case and the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in similar cases, decided to condone the delay and admitted the appeal for hearing on its merits. The Tribunal noted that the assessee trust is eligible for exemption under section 10(23C) of the Act and primarily earns income from government grants.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 669583 (ITAT-PUNE)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 26-06-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: A
• Assessment Year: 2012-2013
• Other Referred Cases: Inder Singh Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh
• Laws Referred To: Income-tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: RAMNATH P MURKUNDE
• Keywords: Condonation of delay; Set aside; Opportunity of being heard; Reasonable cause

Judgement Text

" IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL PUNE BENCHES “A”, PUNE BEFORE DR.MANISH BORAD, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER AND SHRI VINAY BHAMORE, JUDICIAL MEMBER आयकर अपील सं. / ITA No.522/PUN/2025 Assessment Year : 2012-13 Janata Shikshan Sanstha Swami Vivekanand High School, Dapodi, Pune – 411012 Maharashtra PAN: AAATJ5885G Vs. Income Tax Officer (Exemption), Ward-1, Pune Appellant Respondent आदेश / ORDER PER DR. MANISH BORAD, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER : The captioned appeal at the instance of assessee pertaining to A.Y. 2012-13 is directed against the order dated 29.06.2024 of National Faceless Appeal Centre(NFAC), Delhi passed u/s.250 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter also called ‘the Act’) arising out of Assessment Order dated 06.11.2019 passed u/s.144 of the Act. 2. We find that there is delay of 183 days in filing the appeal before this Tribunal. An Affidavit has been filed by the assessee stating as follows : “1. The Assessee Trust, through its duly authorized representative, respectfully submits this application before the Hon'ble Tribunal, seeking condonation of delay in filing Form 36 (Appeal) against the Order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) dated June 29, 2024. The due date for filing the appeal, as per the statutory timeline under the Income Tax Act, was August 28, 2024, which marks Appellant by : None Respondent by : Shri Ramnath P Murkunde Date of hearing : 25.06.2025 Date of pronouncement : 26.06.2025 ITA No.522/PUN/2025 Janata Shikshan Sanstha 2 the expiration of the prescribed 60-day period from the date of service of the aforementioned order. 2. The delay in filing the appeal is regrettable and occurred due to certain genuine and unavoidable circumstances. Specifically, the Trust faced an internal issue wherein the staff responsible for handling accounting, taxation, and compliance matters were laypersons with limited knowledge and expertise in tax laws and procedures. Despite best efforts, this lack of specialized knowledge inadvertently led to a failure in adhering to the statutory timelines for filing the appeal. 3. Further, the Trust's administration encountered a significant internal miscommunication regarding the appropriate signing authority for the appeal documents. This issue was brought to light only after a considerable amount of time, which, unfortunately, compounded the delay in submission. Once the matter was clarified, and the authorized signatory was confirmed, immediate action was taken to prepare and file the appeal. 4. In light of the above, the delay in filing the appeal was not intentional, but rather a consequence of the unforeseen administrative challenges faced by the Trust. The total delay amounts to 183 days. The Trust acknowledges the delay and sincerely regrets the inconvenience it may have caused to the Hon'ble Tribunal and all concerned parties. 5. The Trust wishes to assure the Hon'ble Tribunal that corrective measures have been taken to address the internal administrative issues that contributed to this delay. Steps have been initiated to ensure that the staff involved in compliance matters undergoes appropriate training in tax laws, and a more structured approach has been put in place to avoid any future delays in meeting statutory obligations. 6. In view of the genuine and unavoidable reasons outlined above, the Assessee Trust respectfully prays that the Hon'ble Tribunal may kindly exercise its discretion to condone the delay in filing the appeal. The Trust believes that the issues in question merit a detailed examination, and the opportunity to present its case before the Hon'ble Tribunal will ensure a just resolution of the matter. 7. The Trust humbly seeks the indulgence of the Hon'ble Tribunal in allowing it the opportunity to present its case on merits, despite the delay in filing the appeal. The Trust is committed to full compliance with all statutory requirements in the future and has taken steps to prevent such delays from recurring. The Trust respectfully prays that the Hon'ble Tribunal may graciously condone the delay and grant it an opportunity to be heard. 3. We have heard the ld. Departmental Representative and gone through the averments made in the affidavit. Hon’ble courts in plethora of judgments observed that when consideration of an ITA No.522/PUN/2025 Janata Shikshan Sanstha 3 appeal on merits is pitted against the rejection of a meritorious claim on the technical ground of the bar of limitation, the Courts lean towards consideration on merits by adopting a liberal approach towards ‘sufficient cause’ to condone the delay. The Court considering an application under section 5 of the Limitation Act may also look into the prima facie merits of an appeal. A liberal approach may be adopted when some plausible cause for delay is shown. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Inder Singh Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh judgment dated 21.03.2025 (2025 INSC 382) condoned delay of 1537 days sub- serving the cause of justice. It was held so while observing that the appeal filed by the appellant with a delay was unintentional, much less due to any deliberate laches, and was well-explained by the State before the High Court. Hon’ble Court further held that in cases where the merits are significant, a more liberal approach may be adopted to allow for the examination of the case on its merits. Having gone through the averments made in the affidavit and considering the ratio laid down by the Hon’ble Court in the case of Inder Singh (supra), we are of the view that there was ‘reasonable cause’ which prevented the assessee in filing the appeal within the stipulated time. We therefore condone the delay of 183 days and admit the appeal for adjudication. 4. When the appeal was called for, none appeared on behalf of the assessee even though valid notice of hearing was served. With the assistance of ld. Departmental Representative and on perusal of record, we notice that assessee is a trust and assessed u/s.144 of the Act for A.Y. 2012-13 wherein additions have been made at Rs.72,98,660/-. Assessee has challenged the additions before ld.CIT(A) but even though various opportunities were granted assessee failed to appear to plead its case resulting into ITA No.522/PUN/2025 Janata Shikshan Sanstha 4 dismissal of the appeal and finding of ld. Assessing Officer stood confirmed. 5. We further on going through the statement of facts filed before ld.CIT(A) notice that assessee is engaged in running educational institution, i.e. school and main income of the assessee is from Government grants awarded for achieving the objects of the trust and that assessee trust is eligible for exemption u/s.10(23C) of the Act. It is also stated that assessee trust is running a school for the benefit of children of much lower and middle income strata parents. Due to lack of proper communication, assessee failed to plead before ld.CIT(A). We therefore considering the facts of the circumstances in the instant case and in the larger interest of justice being fair to both the parties deem it proper to restore the issue raised on merit to the file of ld.CIT(A) for necessary adjudication. Needless to mention that ld.CIT(A) shall in the course of set-aside proceedings afford a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee and if necessary a remand report may be called for from the ld. Jurisdictional Assessing Officer. Then, after considering the submissions/evidences filed by the assessee Ld.CIT(A) shall pass a speaking order as contemplated u/s.250(6) of the Act. Assessee is directed to provide updated email id and contact detail to the department for receiving the notices from ITBA portal. Assessee is also directed to remain vigilant and not to take adjournment unless otherwise required for reasonable cause. Impugned order is set aside and the effective grounds of appeal raised by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes. ITA No.522/PUN/2025 Janata Shikshan Sanstha 5 6. In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced on this 26th day of June, 2025. Sd/- Sd/- (VINAY BHAMORE) (MANISH BORAD) JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER पुणे / Pune; \u0001दनांक / Dated : 26th June, 2025. Satish आदेश क\u0002 \u0003ितिलिप अ ेिषत / Copy of the Order forwarded to : 1. अपीलाथ / The Appellant. 2. \u000eयथ / The Respondent. 3. The Pr. CIT concerned. 4. िवभागीय ितिनिध, आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण, “A” ब\u0014च, पुणे / DR, ITAT, “A” Bench, Pune. 5. गाड\u0004 फ़ाइल / Guard File. आदेशानुसार / BY ORDER, // True Copy // Senior Private Secretary आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण, पुणे / ITAT, Pune. "