The ITAT has condoned a 388-day delay in filing appeal by a 94-year-old farmer, citing advanced age and lack of digital access, and remanded a ₹48.81 lakh demonetization addition for fresh adjudication.
ITAT Condones 388-Day Delay for 94-Year-Old Farmer, Remands Demonetization Addition
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has condoned a 388-day delay in the filing of appeal by a 94-year-old farmer, emphasizing factors of advanced age and unfamiliarity with online procedures. The tribunal remanded the matter concerning a ₹48.81 lakh addition made during demonetization for fresh adjudication by the lower authority.
The ITAT observed that strictly enforcing procedural timelines would defeat the ends of justice in cases involving elderly litigants with limited technological access. Relying on settled precedents allowing condonation of delay under Section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the tribunal underscored that genuine hardship must be considered when assessing delays.
"The appellant is a 94-year-old farmer with no familiarity with online procedures; expecting timely compliance would amount to injustice,"the tribunal noted. The remand directive requires the Assessing Officer to re-examine the addition without being influenced by the earlier decision. Practitioners must now consider age and digital literacy as legitimate grounds for condonation in similar cases.
