Sri Vani Educational Society Vs Assistant Commissioner and Others (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Summary: In Sri Vani Educational Society Vs Assistant Commissioner and Others (Andhra Pradesh High Court), the Andhra Pradesh High Court considered writ petitions concerning rejection of applications under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for condonation of delay in filing Form-10B for Assessment Years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. The petitioner, a registered educational society registered under Section 12AA, had claimed exemption under Sections 11 and 12. The assessment proceedings resulted in a total demand of Rs.4,79,92,300/- after the exemption claim was rejected, with the authorities stating that Form-10B had not been filed.
The petitioner submitted that Form-10B for AY 2019-20 was filed on 13.11.2019 against the stated last date of 31.10.2019, involving a delay of 13 days, which was attributed to the heart ailment and treatment of the petitioner’s chartered accountant, Sri G.R. Sathyanarayana. For AYs 2020-21 and 2021-22, the petitioner stated that Form-10B was filed on 14.02.2021 and 08.02.2021 respectively, within the extended dates, and relied upon the Covid pandemic. The applications for condonation were rejected by orders dated 07.01.2025.
The High Court examined Section 119(2)(b), which empowers the Board, in cases of genuine hardship, to authorise an income-tax authority to admit applications or claims after expiry of the prescribed period and deal with them on merits. The Court held that the provision indicates a liberal approach and does not prescribe a specific period for seeking condonation. It further held that rejecting the applications merely on the ground that they were beyond the time prescribed was not sustainable.
