ITAT Condoned 939-Day Delay After Accepting Assessee’s Explanation of Non-Service and Personal Hardship

Background

The Mumbai “B” Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal condoned an extraordinary delay of 939 days in filing the appeal by Bhavik Shashikant Thakkar, noting that the assessee was largely residing in Sri Lanka during the COVID period and was unaware of the ex-parte appellate order passed by the CIT(A). The Tribunal accepted the sworn affidavit explaining that statutory notices were never properly served, recovery proceedings were initiated without prior intimation, and the assessee learned of the tax demand only after receiving coercive calls from the department. The Revenue did not strongly oppose the condonation.

Ex-Parte Additions Set Aside for Fresh Adjudication in Interest of Natural Justice

On merits, the ITAT observed that additions relating to cash deposits of over ₹11.51 crore, disallowance of Section 80C deduction, and housing loan principal repayment were confirmed without considering the assessee’s written explanation. Noting lack of effective representation and procedural lapses at both assessment and appellate stages, the Tribunal held that reasonable opportunity of hearing was denied. The entire matter was restored to the Assessing Officer for de novo adjudication with directions to provide proper hearing.

The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.