Nilgiri Vanijya Private Limited Vs PCIT (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court considered a writ petition challenging the legality of an order dated 18.02.2026 passed under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2024-25. The principal issue was whether the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (PCIT) was authorised to entertain an application for condonation of delay in filing Form 10-IC for AY 2024-25 in the absence of a specific CBDT circular authorising such condonation, when CBDT Circular No. 17/2024 dated 18.11.2024 covered only AYs 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23.
The petitioner submitted that the delay in filing Form 10-IC was caused by genuine hardship and was neither intentional nor aimed at obtaining any undue advantage. It was argued that the power to condone delay under Section 119(2)(b) is a statutory power vested in the Board and specified authorities and is not restricted to particular assessment years. The petitioner further contended that CBDT Circular No. 17/2024 was merely an enabling circular for specified years and could not override or curtail the statutory provisions of the Act. It was also submitted that failure to consider the application on merits amounted to a failure to exercise jurisdiction.
The Income Tax Department submitted that the impugned order only rejected the application for condonation of delay and did not decide the petitioner’s eligibility under Section 115BAA. It further argued that the rejection was consistent with Section 119(2)(b) and CBDT Circular No. 17/2024, under which the PCIT was authorised to condone delays only for AYs 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23.
