Concessional Corporate Tax Regime: permit filing of Form No.10-IC and consider condonation of delay for eligible taxpayers.

Where a company files its income tax return on or before the due date and clearly indicates an election for the concessional corporate tax regime in the ITR, failure to file Form No.10 IC may be treated as an inadvertent procedural lapse; the Assessing Officer should be directed to permit filing of Form No.10 IC and may condone the delay subject to fulfillment of other statutory conditions and applicable guidance, having regard to CBDT circulars; the practical effect is restoration to the AO to allow post filing of the form and to decide entitlement to the concessional regime under the prescribed conditions.

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Issues: Whether failure to file Form No.10-IC on or before the due date of filing the return under section 139(1) is fatal to a domestic company's claim to the concessional tax rate under section 115BAA(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and whether the Assessing Officer should be directed to permit filing of Form No.10-IC and condone the delay where the return was filed on time and the option for the concessional regime was indicated in the return.

Analysis: The issue turns on statutory requirement of filing Form No.10-IC under section 115BAA(5) read with the return filing provisions of section 139(1) and the processing under section 143(1), and on the applicability of relief under Circular No.6 of 2022 dated 17th March, 2022. The Tribunal examined whether non-filing of Form No.10-IC was an inadvertent procedural error where the return was filed on or before the due date and the taxpayer had clearly indicated the option for the concessional regime in the ITR. The Tribunal considered precedent where, in like circumstances and having regard to the CBDT circular, delay in filing Form No.10-IC was condoned and the matter was restored to the Assessing Officer to permit filing of the form and to decide entitlement to relief subject to fulfillment of other legal conditions.

Conclusion: The Tribunal directed that the issue be restored to the file of the Assessing Officer with a direction to permit the assessee to file Form No.10-IC and to consider what relief the assessee is entitled to, subject to the assessee fulfilling all other requisite conditions as per law; the appeal is allowed for statistical purposes.

Final Conclusion: Where a return is filed on or before the due date and the option for taxation under section 115BAA is clearly indicated in the return, the Assessing Officer shall be directed to permit filing of Form No.10-IC and consider condonation of delay and grant relief in accordance with applicable conditions and relevant CBDT circulars.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the return is timely filed and the taxpayer has unambiguously manifested intention to opt for the concessional regime in the ITR, failure to file Form No.10-IC may be treated as an inadvertent procedural lapse enabling the Assessing Officer to permit filing of the form and condone the delay subject to compliance with conditions specified by the competent authority.

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