The Madras High Court has set aside an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) that dismissed an appeal solely on account of an 851-day delay in filing.
The Bench of Dr. Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice N. Mala allowed the writ petition directing the ITAT to hear the appeal on merits and dispose of it in accordance with law within twelve weeks.
The dispute arose after the ITAT refused to condone an 851-day delay in filing the company’s appeal relating to the Assessment Year 2014-15. The Tribunal had concluded that the taxpayer had failed to satisfactorily explain the inordinate delay and consequently dismissed the appeal without examining the merits of the case.
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Before the High Court, the petitioner argued that the appellate order had not been communicated directly to the company. Instead, it had been sent to the email address of its former Chartered Accountant, who allegedly failed to inform the company about the order. As a result, the company remained unaware of the decision, leading to the substantial delay in approaching the ITAT.
After examining the material placed on record, the Bench observed that the appellate order had indeed been sent to the email address of the Chartered Accountant and not communicated directly to the assessee. The Court held that this constituted a probable explanation for the delay.
More importantly, the Bench emphasized that once an appeal had been filed, the Tribunal ought to have considered the matter on its merits instead of rejecting it purely on the ground of delay.
The High Court quashed the ITAT’s order dated March 18, 2026, and remanded the matter back to the Tribunal for fresh adjudication.
The Court directed the ITAT to hear the appeal on merits, in accordance with law, and pass appropriate orders within twelve weeks from the date of receipt of the High Court’s judgment. The writ petition was disposed of without any order as to costs, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were also closed.
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