Section 115BAA eligibility accepted for reconsideration where late Form 10-IC filing arose from technical difficulty and natural justice applied.

Eligibility to be taxed under section 115BAA was examined where the assessee had opted for the new regime in the return but had not uploaded Form 10-IC within time because of a technical error. The record indicated that the same form was later filed for the succeeding year, supporting the claim that the omission was technical rather than deliberate. Applying natural justice, the matter was remitted for fresh consideration with an opportunity to file Form 10-IC before the jurisdictional Assessing Officer. The income is to be recomputed under section 115BAA after granting the assessee a hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to claim taxation under section 115BAA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 despite non-filing of Form 10-IC within time due to a technical problem, and whether the matter required fresh consideration with an opportunity to file the form before the jurisdictional Assessing Officer.

Analysis: The assessee had opted for the new regime in the return of income, but Form 10-IC had not been uploaded for the relevant assessment year. The record also indicated that the assessee later faced an error while attempting to file the form and had already filed Form 10-IC for the succeeding assessment year. In these circumstances, the delay was treated as arising from a technical difficulty, and the principles of natural justice were invoked to permit reconsideration of the claim after filing of the form.

Conclusion: The matter was set aside with a direction to permit filing of Form 10-IC before the jurisdictional Assessing Officer and to recompute the income under section 115BAA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 after granting an opportunity of hearing to the assessee.

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