Belated return limits do not bar carry forward of unabsorbed depreciation and investment allowance under income tax law.

Section 139(1) time limits do not govern the carry forward of unabsorbed depreciation and investment allowance. The statutory restriction in section 139(3), read with section 80, applies to business loss and capital loss returns filed within the prescribed time, but those provisions do not extend to depreciation or investment allowance. Where the return has been accepted and tax assessed on the returned income, the assessee cannot be denied the corresponding statutory credit merely because the return was belated for loss-return purposes. An assessment order may therefore be amended to grant the benefit.

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Issues: Whether the time limit under section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act applies to the carry forward of unabsorbed depreciation and investment allowance, and whether the assessment had to be amended to grant that benefit.

Analysis: Section 139(3) read with section 80 governs carry forward of loss determined on the basis of a return filed within the prescribed time, but those provisions are directed to business loss and capital loss. Unabsorbed depreciation and investment allowance stand on a different footing, and the statute does not impose the same filing-time restriction on their carry forward. The return was accepted by the assessing authority and tax was levied on the returned income, so the assessee could not be denied the statutory credit for depreciation and investment allowance merely because the return was filed beyond the period prescribed for loss returns.

Conclusion: The limitation in section 139(1) does not apply to the carry forward of unabsorbed depreciation and investment allowance, and the assessee was entitled to amendment of the assessment order.

Ratio Decidendi: The statutory restriction on belated returns for carry forward of loss under section 139(3) does not extend to unabsorbed depreciation and investment allowance, which are treated differently under the Act.

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