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2020 (11) TMI 169 - AT - Income TaxCondonation of delay - Reasons of delay - delay of 285 days - inadvertent lapse on the part of its chartered accountant - HELD THAT:- In the case before us the chartered accountant of the assessee company i.e Shri Nishit Dave, partner of M/s Jayesh Dadia and associates LLP, had filed an ‘affidavit’, dated 15.02.2019, therein instils sufficient confidence as regards the genuineness and veracity of the explanation of the assessee pertaining to the reasons leading to the aforesaid delay in filing of the present appeal. On a perusal of the ‘affidavit’ filed by the chartered accountant, it can safely or rather inescapably be gathered that he had in unequivocal terms admitted that the delay in filing of the appeal with the CIT(A) was attributable on account of an advertent omission on his part. Unable to persuade ourselves to subscribe to the manner in which the CIT(A) had summarily rejected the ‘affidavit’ of the chartered accountant and consequently dismissed the appeal of the assessee company by holding that de hors a sufficient cause, the delay in filing of the appeal could not be brought within the realm of the provisions of Sec. 249(3). Shri Ketan Gandhi, director of the assessee company had also in order to buttress the aforesaid factual position as regards the delay in filing of the appeal deposed the facts on the basis of clearly worded affidavit. On the basis of the aforesaid factual matrix, we are of a strong conviction that in the absence of any facts proving to the contrary, the claim of the assessee that the delay in filing of the appeal was attributable on account of an inadvertent lapse on the part of its chartered accountant could not have been summarily scrapped, specifically when the assessee’s chartered accountant had filed an ‘affidavit’ supporting the aforesaid factual position. As such, we are of the considered view that the delay in filing of the present appeal can safely be held to be attributable on account of a lapse on the part of the chartered accountant, which in no way would suffice for justifying the declining of the admission of the appeal by the CIT(A). We thus condone the delay of 285 days involved in filing of the present appeal. Accordingly, in terms of our aforesaid observations, we herein ‘set aside’ the order of the CIT(A), and therein restore the matter to his file with a direction to adjudicate the same on merits.
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