The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi Bench, presided over by Shri Saktijit Dey, Judicial Member, and Dr. BRR Kumar, Accountant Member, heard the case titled Vidya Global School vs. JCIT (International Taxation) concerning appeals filed against penalty orders under Section 271C(1)(a) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17.
Vidya Global School, represented by Shri V. Rajakumar, advocate, appealed against the penalties imposed by the Joint Commissioner of Income-Tax, International Taxation, Range-Noida. The penalties were issued following orders dated January 7, 2019, which the school challenged directly at the ITAT, bypassing the Commissioner of Income-Tax (Appeals).
The tribunal noted that the appeals were directly filed to the ITAT without approaching the CIT(Appeals). According to Section 253 of the Income Tax Act, the penalty order under Section 271C passed by the Joint CIT does not qualify for direct appeal to the tribunal. The correct procedure involves appealing to the CIT(Appeals) as per section 246A(1)(n).
The tribunal, therefore, found the appeals to be non-maintainable and dismissed them. However, they granted the appellant liberty to approach the CIT(Appeals) and recommended that the first appellate authority consider condoning the delay in filing the appeals due to the initial misdirection.
This case underscores the procedural importance of following the statutory routes for appeals in tax matters. Directly approaching the ITAT without exhausting the initial appeal mechanisms leads to dismissal. The tribunal’s decision also highlights the potential for judicial leniency in procedural errors when the underlying issue involves administrative penalties.
The order was pronounced in the open court on July 14, 2022, thereby concluding that while procedural missteps can be corrected, they must be promptly addressed to avoid potential complications in judicial processes.
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