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2011 (12) TMI 542 - HC - Income TaxDelay in filing returns - Refund of the TDS denied - inaction of the Income-tax authorities in not processing the returns of Income-tax for the assessment years 1995-96 to 1998-99 on the ground of delay in filing those returns - Held that:- The attitude of the Revenue, to say the least, is in defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at. True, no specific or express provision is engrafted in this section to deal with refund of TDS erroneously deducted when there is admittedly no due from the assessee. But then, this is precisely the reason, in my considered view, for enacting section 119(1)(b) of the Act : this is in the nature of an inherent power granted to the Central Board of Direct Taxes to entrust any Income-tax authority other than a Commissioner (Appeals) to admit an application or claim for exemption, refund even belatedly and dispose of the same in accordance with law. Parliament was obviously not unmindful of the possibility of future occurrence of innumerable situations which are likely to cause genuine hardships to citizens in course of collection of revenue such as the one herein but which could not be foreseen by it at the time of enacting the legislation and it is apparently with a view to meet such exigencies that section 119(1)(b) of the Act was engrafted. In my judgment, section 119(1)(b) is the appropriate provision to deal with cases of this nature. No other issue remains for consideration. For what has been stated in the foregoing, this writ petition succeeds. The petitioner is entitled to condonation of the delay in filing the claim for refund. Resultantly, the respondent authorities are directed to process the application of the petitioner trust for refund ₹ 8,93,773 and refund the amount in accordance with law along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent. per annum with effect from the date when the application for refund was first filed before respondent No. 2.
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