T943 Vickrapandiyam Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Society Pvt. Ltd. Vs Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court disposed of a batch of writ petitions filed by various Cooperative Societies challenging orders of the Chief Commissioners of Income Tax rejecting their applications for condonation of delay in filing income tax returns. The societies contended that although their income was eligible for deduction under Section 80P of the Income-tax Act, 1961, they failed to file returns within the prescribed time due to delays in completion of statutory audits, lack of expertise, and difficulties arising after the introduction of mandatory return filing requirements under Section 80AC from 01.04.2018. The petitioners relied on CBDT Circular No. 13/2023 and Circular No. 14/2024, which empowered Chief Commissioners to condone delays caused by genuine hardship.
The Court observed that the activities of the petitioner societies were not disputed as qualifying for deduction under Section 80P. It noted that many societies had historically not filed returns because their income was fully deductible and that difficulties increased after the introduction of mandatory filing requirements and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court recognized that statutory audits under the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act often could not be completed before the due date for filing returns.
