Genuine hardship under Section 119(2)(b) justified condonation for a clerical audit-tick error in an income-tax return.

A clerical error in the audit-information tick box of an income-tax return, where the taxpayer asserted that no tax audit report was required and the factual position on cash receipts and payments was not controverted, can justify relief under Section 119(2)(b) if refusal would block correction of a bona fide mistake. The Delhi HC treated the defect as causing genuine hardship because it had no bearing on the assessment of income. The condonation request was therefore allowed, the rejection order was set aside, and the revised return was to be considered on its own merits if filed within the stipulated period.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for filing a revised return for Assessment Year 2022-23, where the original return was rejected on account of an incorrect audit-information tick box and the petitioner asserted that no tax audit report was required.

Analysis: The return was rejected because the audit information in the return contained an inadvertent clerical error, namely, a wrong tick in the response box under the audit particulars. The petitioner's case that its cash receipts were nil and its cash payments were within the prescribed threshold was not controverted. The defect had no bearing on the assessment of income and the refusal to permit correction would have prevented rectification of a bona fide mistake. In these circumstances, the case fell within genuine hardship warranting exercise of the power under Section 119(2)(b).

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to condonation of delay, and the impugned order rejecting the application was set aside. The revised return, if filed within the stipulated period to cure the defect, was to be considered on its own merits without being affected by delay.

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