Outer time limit for delayed income-tax claims upheld; belated refund claim barred by limitation and denied relief.

Section 119(2)(b) permits condonation of delay in income-tax claims to prevent genuine hardship, and the Board may validly attach reasonable conditions, including an outer time limit, to that relief. A claim made beyond the period fixed in Circular No. 9/2015 was therefore barred by limitation, especially where the petitioner had sought relief under the same circular but approached the authority after more than twelve years. The circular was upheld, and the petitioner was denied the requested refund-related relief.

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Issues: Whether clause 3 of Circular No. 9/2015, prescribing a six-year outer limit for condonation of delay in refund or similar claims under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was beyond the Board's power, and whether the petitioner was entitled to relief on a belated claim filed after the permissible period.

Analysis: Section 119(2)(b) empowers the Board to authorize income-tax authorities to admit delayed applications or claims for exemption, deduction, refund, or other relief to avoid genuine hardship. The power to permit delayed claims carries with it the power to prescribe the conditions on which such claims may be entertained. Having invoked the very circular for condonation, the petitioner was bound by its terms. The petitioner neither filed the claim within the normal limitation period nor within the extended period contemplated by the circular, and approached the authority only after more than twelve years. The law of limitation bars the remedy on expiry of the prescribed period.

Conclusion: The circular was upheld, the belated claim was held to be barred by limitation, and the petitioner was not entitled to the requested relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory power to condone delay is exercised through a circular or instruction, the authority may validly prescribe reasonable conditions and an outer time limit for entertainment of delayed claims, and a claim filed beyond that limit is barred by limitation.

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