THE High Court of Kerala said that an application for an excuse for a delay should focus on whether there were sufficient reasons to excuse the delay under section 119(2)(B) of the Act. income tax, rather than on the merits of the claim of the assessee.

Section 119(2)(B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 empowers CBDT to direct the tax authorities to allow any claim for exemption, deduction, refund and any other relief under the Income Tax Act, even after the expiry of the time limit for making such request.

The bench of Justice Gopinath P. observed that “………the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax had considered the merits of the representations raised by the assessee instead of assessing whether there were sufficient reasons to condone the delay or extend the time limit as per the provisions of section 119(2)(b) of the Act. the Income Tax Act, 1961………..”

In this case, the assessee challenged an order passed under section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which refused to extend the time limit for filing income tax returns revised for assessment years 2007-2008 to 2018. 2019.

The assessee submitted that rather than assessing the validity of the claim for delay excuse, the competent authority assessed the merits of the claim of the assessee and concluded that the assessee does not was not entitled to relief under section 119(2)(b) of the Revenue Act. Tax law.

The department argued that the power under section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act can only be exercised in exceptional circumstances and not automatically. She argued that although the merits of the case had been discussed, the competent authority found no reason to extend the filing deadline for the contribution years in question. Therefore, the assessee has not established grounds for relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

The High Court agreed with the assessee that the application for condonation of delay should be considered not on the merits of the application made by the assessee, but on the question whether there was sufficient reason to excuse the delay in view of the provisions contained in Section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act.

The court, after considering the order, observed that the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax had considered the merits of the claims raised by the assessee instead of assessing whether there was sufficient reason for condone the delay or extend the time limit in accordance with the provisions of Section 119 (2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and in accordance with Circular No. 9/2015 dated 09.06.2015, issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes to consider applications for exemption from delay under this section.

In view of the above, the bench granted the request.

Counsel for the petitioner/assessee: Padmanathan KV and R. Sreejith

Counsel for the Respondent/Department: PG Jayashankar and G. Keerthivas

Case Title: Mohan Poovampally Gopal v. Principal Commissioner of Income Tax

Case number: WP(C) NO. 26159 FROM 2024

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 681

Click here to read/download the order