Suresh Kumar Gupta, Raipur, Raipur vs Income Tax Officer, Ward-2(1), Raipur, ... on 13 September, 2023
11. Considering the totality of the facts involved in the present appeals, I
am of the considered view that as inordinate delay is involved in filing of the
same, for which the assessee had failed to come forth with any justifiable
reason, therefore, as stated by the Ld. DR and, rightly so, the same does not
merit to be condoned. The assessee has not given any genuine reason for
the delay in filing of the captioned appeals either in his application seeking
condonation of delay and the affidavits filed before me or in the course of
hearing of the appeals. All that the assessee had tried to canvass before me
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Suresh Kumar Gupta Vs. ITO, Ward-2(1), Raipur
ITA Nos. 237 & 238/RPR/2023
was that the delay in filing of the present appeal had occasioned as the
requisite certificates in Form No.26A could not be obtained from the
respective payees viz. (i) Magma Fincorp Ltd.; and (ii) Religare Finvest Ltd. I
find no substance in the claim of the assessee that the delay involved in
filing of the present appeals was due to bonafide reasons, and the same
does not smack of any lackadaisical conduct on his part. In the totality of the
facts leading to the delay in filing of the present appeals r.w the conduct of
the assessee appellant before the CIT(Appeals), I would mince no words in
observing that the request of the assessee for condoning the delay involved
in filing of the appeal does not merit acceptance. In fact, if I condone the
inordinate delay involved in the present cases where the assessee had
adopted a lackadaisical approach and had not even participated in the
proceedings before the CIT(Appeals), then, it would send a wrong message
and would lay down a wrong precedent for the times to come. I am of a
strong conviction that as the assessee had on account of his callous conduct
delayed the filing of the present appeals by a substantial period of 191 days,
therefore, the applications filed by him seeking condonation of the delay
therein involved does not merit acceptance and are liable to be rejected at
the threshold.