775 Days Delay in filing Income Tax Appeal Due to Covid 19 Restrictions: ITAT Directs CIT(A) to Apply

The ITAT directed the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (CIT(A)) to apply delay exclusion in a case where there was a 775-day delay in filing an income tax appeal due to COVID-19 restrictions. The taxpayer had filed the appeal after a considerable delay, citing the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. The ITAT took a sympathetic view of the situation and ruled that the delay due to the pandemic should be excluded while calculating the statutory timelines. This decision recognizes the extraordinary circumstances caused by COVID-19 and reflects a more lenient approach in dealing with procedural delays during the pandemic, ensuring that taxpayers' rights are not unduly affected by such delays.