Assessee received compensation under Right to Fair Compensation Act on compulsory acquisition of its land. Due to oversight, compensation was incorrectly included in total profit. Realizing later that no tax or stamp duty applied to award, assessee sought leave for a revised return. It filed an application for condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) which came to be rejected on ground that no genuine hardship was shown by assessee. On writ allowing the petition the Court held that when an assessee feels he has paid more tax than what he was liable to pay will certainly cause hardship and that will be certainly a genuine hardship. Court also held that when assessee strongly felt that award that it received under Right to Fair Compensation Act need not have been offered to tax, concerned authority should have condoned delay and considered matter on merits. Accordingly the delay in filling the revised return is directed to be condoned and the Authority concerned is directed to decide on merits. (AY. 2022-23)
K. S. Bilawala v. PCIT (2024) 297 Taxman 464 /463 ITR 766 (Bom.)(HC)
S. 119 : Central Board of Direct Taxes-Compensation wrongly shown as taxable-Application for condonation of delay of revised return-Genuine hardship-Refusing to condone the delay can result in a meritorious matter being thrown out at the very threshold and cause of justice being defeated. As against this, when the delay is condoned, the highest that can happen is that a cause would be decided on merits after hearing the parties-Delay is condoned-Directed to decide on merits. [S. 119(2)(b),143(1), Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, Art.226]