Jagdish Raj Chauhan, Sohagwanti And ... vs Income Tax Officer on 16 November, 2005
11.4 Lastly, the learned Authorised Representative has relied on the judgment of Madras High Court in the case of Vijayeswari Textiles Ltd. v. CIT (supra) to contend that since the learned CIT(A) has decided the appeals on merits, it should be accepted that CIT(A) was convinced about the condoning of delay. We have carefully referred to the judgment of Madras High Court and find the same as distinguishable on facts. In the case before Madras High Court, the facts were that the Tribunal declined to condone the delay in filing the appeal late for 60 days due to death of the senior assistant of the company, who was looking after the income-tax work and his death took place immediately after the receipt of CIT(A)'s order. But the Tribunal did not stop at it. Rather, Tribunal recorded detailed finding for dismissing the appeals on merits. The High Court found that there were sufficient reasons for the delay in filing the appeal and further even on merits the order of the Tribunal was not tenable. In this case, the appeals have been dismissed primarily for the reasons that requirement of Section 249(4)(a) was not complied with and there was a delay in filing the appeals without any justifiable reasons. On p. 6 of the order, the CIT(A) has made a cryptic reference about the merits. One additional ground was not admitted. As regards other grounds, the learned CIT(A) has observed that these grounds are mostly infructuous. There is no detailed discussion about the submissions of the assessee and merits of grounds. In fact the main ground relates to charging of interest under Sections 234A, 234B and 234C. But there is hardly any discussion about the merits of such ground. Therefore, it is difficult to accept that CIT(A) has decided the ground by passing reasoned and judicious orders. Be that as it may, the learned CIT(A) ought to have not made any comments on the merits of grounds once the appeals were dismissed on the ground of non-payment of tax on returned income and delay in filing the appeals. But at the same time we do not find anything in the impugned orders to suggest remotely that CIT(A) has condoned the delay or entertained any doubt in this regard particularly when no reasons whatsoever existed/explained before the CIT(A) and even before us. Therefore, this submission is also rejected.