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2015 (9) TMI 1123 - HC - Income TaxExtension of time for filing of ITR - Public Interest Litigation (PIL) - maintainability of PIL - Held that:- The period claimed by the petitioner as a matter of right of 180 days for filing the ITR is admittedly not prescribed, neither in the Statute nor in the Rules. According to the counsel for the petitioner also, the same has to be deduced from the scheme of the Act. Unable to gauge any such scheme in the Act assuring 180 days to the assessee for filing the ITR. As already observed above, filing of ITR for assesses due date wherefor is 180 days is dependent upon the accounts of the assessee being audited and which audit the counsel for the petitioner admits commences only on the beginning of assessment year. The said audit, in the case of some assesses may be completed in a few days and in case of others may take longer. Thus, the time taken in audit, which is variable, will be determinative of the time available thereafter for filing the ITR. The said audit is not dependent upon the prescription of the forms for report of the said audit and / or for filing of the ITR. Audit, as per my understanding is to be as per the Guidelines prescribed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the expectation, even if any for amendment to the form of the Audit Report and /or of the form for filing the ITR is not to interfere with the commencement or completion of the audit and which can by no stretch of imagination be said to be a small task. Experience of life shows that the said audit itself takes the majority of the time, even if can be said to be prescribed of 180 days, for filing of the ITR. Once the audit is complete, in my opinion, the time admittedly available from 29th July, 2015 / 7th August, 2015 to 30th September, 2015 cannot be said to be so small / short which would qualify as unreasonable and in which the Chartered Accountants and the other practitioners of the field cannot be said to be having sufficient time to fill up the forms as per the audit already completed and to file the ITR. It is not as if the Authorities have not applied themselves to the matter. The Authorities concerned, while have extended time for filing of the ITR from the due date of 31st July to 7th September, after having brought out the Notification dated 29th July, 2015 were of the opinion that there was no need for extension of due date of 30th September.It is also significant that the respondents, vide Press Release dated 9th September, 2015 have notified that the date of 30th September will not be extended and have advised the taxpayers to file the returns accordingly. It is thus not as if the respondents have kept the decision in this regard pending till the last date. After 9th September also, sufficient time is available for filing the ITR. The test to be applied in such matters is not of seeing whether the respondents would suffer any prejudice or not, without first being satisfied of the infringement of rights of the petitioner and/or prejudice being caused to the petitioner. If no right is infringed and no prejudice is found to be caused to the petitioner, merely because no prejudice would be caused to the respondents by extending the time for filing the ITR would not be a ground for interfering with the policy decision of the Government and granting such extension. Save for the aforesaid direction, the petition is dismissed.
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