ITAT Bangalore Dismisses Appeal of RGUHS as Infructuous; Holds Improper Verification by Non-Principal Officer

Key Facts and Tribunal Findings

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Bangalore Bench, dismissed the appeal filed by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) for Assessment Year 2015–16 as not maintainable due to improper verification of the appeal.

The Tribunal noted discrepancies in the verification of statutory documents. While the return of income was signed by the Finance Officer, the appeal before the ITAT was verified by the Assistant Registrar, and the appeal before the CIT(A) was also verified by a different authority. This inconsistency raised a fundamental issue regarding compliance with Section 140 of the Income Tax Act and Rules 45(3) and 47(1) of the Income Tax Rules.

The Tribunal observed that under the statutory framework, the return of income and appellate filings must be verified by the “Principal Officer” of the entity. In the case of the university, the applicable law—Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Act, 1994—designates the Vice-Chancellor as the principal executive and academic officer.

Since the appeal before the Tribunal was not verified by the authorised principal officer, it was held to be defective and not maintainable in law. The authorised representative failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the inconsistency in verification across proceedings.

Accordingly, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal as infructuous. However, in the interest of justice, it granted liberty to the assessee to file a fresh appeal duly verified in accordance with the statutory requirements, along with an application for condonation of delay, if applicable.