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2022 (10) TMI 476 - AT - Income TaxAppeal dismissed by CIT(A) as not maintainable un/s 249(4) - CIT-A declined the admission of the appeal of the assessee, for the reason that it had not paid the taxes which is a pre-condition for maintainability of an appeal as per section 249(4) - HELD THAT:- Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) losing sight of the fact that the instant case of the assessee was covered by clause (b) of section 249(4) of the Act, which did vest a discretion with him to exempt the assessee for good and sufficient reasons to be recorded in writing from the pre-condition of payment of tax and admit the appeal, had however, without exercising his discretion in the backdrop of the reason given by the assessee dismissed its appeal in limine, for the reason that it had not filed its return of income and paid taxes. In our considered view, as stated by the learned authorised representative, and rightly so, CIT (Appeals) in the present case had failed to exercise the judicial discretion that was vested with him for exempting the assessee from the operation of the provisions of clause (b), despite there being a categorical claim of the assessee that the failure on its part to deposit the tax had occasioned on account of financial difficulties. We are unable to persuade ourselves to subscribe to the dismissal of the assessee's appeal in limine by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), who in our considered view had misconceived ; or in fact had misconstrued the scope and gamut of the provisions of section 249(4)(b) of the Act as were applicable to the case of the assessee before us. We, thus, in terms of our aforesaid observations, set aside the impugned order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) and restore the matter to his file with a direction to reconsider the maintainability of the appeal on the basis of reasons given by the assessee as regards the failure on its part to pay the amount of tax as contemplated in clause (b) of section 249(4) of the Act.
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