ITAT
dismisses assessee's plea to condone 2984 days delay in filing of
appeal, rejects 'improper advice' given by CA firm as ground for
condonation / "sufficient delay"; Tribunal taken aback by CA firm's
affidavit, stating that it had advised assessee not to file an appeal
with ITAT on same issue for
later AYs and rather file a 'rectification
or review' plea with AO once Tribunal settled the issue; "Inconceivable
that a C.A would have advised the assessee to wait for outcome of a past
appeal to decide about the course of action to be taken for the years
under consideration", observe Tribunal members; Such advise by a CA
badly damages prestige and reputation enjoyed by CA profession, urges
ICAI to take strict disciplinary action and immediate steps to stem the
"deteriorating standards" & "alarming practices" among some CAs;
Criticises ICAI for allowing CA coaching classes to "mushroom",
consequently leading to 'manufacturing' of Chartered Accountants and
replacement of analytical thinking by 'spoonfeeding'; Expresses doubts
over efficacy of CPE seminars, if such advices are given by CAs
attending them; Rejects affidavits given by both the CA firm &
assessee, remarks that conduct of assessee beyond comprehension of
"human conduct and probabilities" : Mumbai ITAT