Court orders respondent to consider condoning delay in submitting Form 3CK for 2017-18

The Court directed the respondent to consider the petitioner's request to condone the delay in submitting Form 3CK in physical form and grant approval for the financial year 2017-18. The petitioner was given the opportunity to make a representation to the respondent, emphasizing that the absence of a provision for condoning such delay should not be a ground for rejection, given the non-functioning of the respondent's portal during the submission period.

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Issues:
Challenge to the approval date of Research and Development facility under Section 35(2AB) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the approval date of their Research and Development facility under Section 35(2AB) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which was approved by the respondent from 01.04.2018 instead of the petitioner's claim for approval from 01.04.2017. The respondent based their decision on the submission date of Form 3CK, which was submitted by the petitioner on 27.04.2018, after the deadline of 31.03.2018 as per the Guidelines. The respondent relied on a previous judgment by the Division Bench of the Court to support their decision (paragraphs 1-4).

The petitioner argued that the application (Form 3CK) was required to be submitted online as per Clause 6 of the Guidelines. However, due to the non-functioning of the respondent's online portal between 08.03.2018 to 25.04.2018, the petitioner submitted the application in physical form. The petitioner explained the delay was unintentional due to technical glitches and the absence of their Managing Director in India during the submission period. The respondent, in their counter affidavit, did not specifically deny the non-functioning of their portal but stated that physical copies were accepted (paragraphs 5-7).

The Court considered the petitioner's submission regarding the non-functioning of the respondent's portal as crucial. Referring to a previous judgment related to a different matter, the Court emphasized that the rights of the parties should not be affected by inefficient systems. The Court noted that the petitioner's inability to submit the application in physical form on time due to technical issues should not be a reason to deny approval under Section 35(2AB) of the Income Tax Act (paragraphs 9-10).

Consequently, the Court directed the respondent to consider the petitioner's request to condone the delay in submitting Form 3CK in physical form and grant approval for the financial year 2017-18. The petitioner was given the opportunity to make a representation to the respondent, which should be considered within four weeks of receipt. The Court emphasized that the absence of a provision for condoning such delay should not be a ground for rejecting the petitioner's representation, especially considering the non-functioning of the respondent's portal during the submission period (paragraphs 11-12).

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