Portal failure and delayed Form No. 10AB filing may still be considered on merits through physical submission.

Portal-related technical difficulty in uploading Form No. 10AB did not justify denial of consideration where Circular No. 17/2022 permitted entertainment of delayed applications on merits. The High Court directed the applicant to file the form physically before the competent income tax authority with supporting documents, and required the authority to treat it as filed within time and decide the registration request on merits in accordance with law and the circular.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioner, who could not upload Form No. 10AB within the extended time because of technical glitches in the Income Tax portal, was entitled to submit the form in physical mode and have it considered as filed within time for decision on merits.

Analysis: The petition concerned only the failure of online submission of Form No. 10AB before the extended deadline. The Court noted the administrative relaxation contained in Circular No. 17/2022, under which the competent income tax authority may entertain delayed applications and decide them on merits. In the interest of justice, and to avoid denial of consideration solely on account of portal-related difficulty, the Court directed the petitioner to submit Form No. 10AB in physical mode before the competent authority along with the required application and documents. The authority was directed to treat the form as filed before 30.06.2024 and decide it on merits in accordance with law and the circular.

Conclusion: The petitioner was granted limited relief to submit the application physically, and the competent authority was directed to consider it as timely filed and adjudicate it on merits.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition was allowed to the extent of facilitating physical filing and merits-based consideration of the registration application, while leaving the substantive decision on registration to the competent authority.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an online tax filing is prevented by portal-related technical difficulty and a governing circular permits consideration of delayed applications, the authority may be directed to accept physical filing and decide the matter on merits in the interest of justice.

---