Board ordered to extend income-tax return due date to 30 November 2014 under s.119 for s.44AB audit compliance

SC dismissed the Special Leave Petitions and directed the Board to modify its notification of 20 August 2014 under s.119 by extending the due date for furnishing income-tax returns to 30 November 2014 to accommodate filing of the tax-audit report under s.44AB, noting this would effectively extend the "specified date" for audit purposes. The Board may qualify the relaxation by excluding its operation for Explanation 1 to s.234A. The decision was treated in favour of the assessee; the question of law was left open.

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Upon hearing counsel, the Court "find[s] no reason to entertain these Special Leave Petitions, which are, accordingly, dismissed." The order records that there was no representation for the respondent. No substantive reasoning is elaborated in the short order; the Court expressly leaves the substantive "question of law" open for future consideration. Procedurally, the matter is disposed of by dismissal of the petitions while preserving the legal issue for possible adjudication elsewhere or at a later stage. The decision is a summary dismissal rather than a determination on the merits of the underlying legal question.

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