INCOME TAX RETURN CAN BE REVISED ANY TIME : HIGH COURT

INCOME TAX RETURN CAN BE REVISED ANY TIME TO CLAIM EXEMPTION

Facts of the case

,A retired employee of the Bank upon retirement, filed his return of income for the relevant year and the assessment was finalized.

Subsequently, the petitioner came to know that the Supreme Court, held that a person, who has opted for voluntary retirement shall be entitled to exemption under section 10

 Following the said decision, the Central Board of Direct Taxes issued a circular stating that the judgment of the Supreme Court be brought to the notice of all officials in the respective jurisdiction so that relief may be granted to such retirees of the Bank under Early Retirement Option Scheme, 2003.

Thereafter the petitioner filed a revised return by referring to the said decision and stating that only after the said decision came to his notice, he had been advised to file the revised return.

However, the revised return was refused to be accepted as it was beyond the time period stipulated under section 139(5).

Taxpayer filed Appeal in High Court

Decision of High Court

Thus, if the default in complying with the requirement was due to circumstances beyond the control of the assessee, the Board is entitled to exercise its power and relax the requirement contained in Chapter IV or Chapter VI-A.

If such a power is conferred upon the Board, this Court, while exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 of The Constitution of India, would also be entitled to consider as to whether the petitioner's case would fall within one of the conditions stipulated under Section 119(2)(c).

The petitioner, being a senior citizen, cannot be denied of the benefit of exemption under Section 10 of the Act and the financial benefit that had accrued to the petitioner, which would be more than a lakh of rupees. Therefore, this Court is of the view that the third respondent should grant the benefit of exemption to the petitioner.