Audit-linked due date made the new tax regime option valid when Form 10IE and return were filed in time.

Where the assessee was subject to an audit-related return due date, filing Form 10IE and the return before that extended deadline constituted a valid exercise of the option under the new tax regime. The rejection of the claim rested on an incorrect assumption that the earlier due date applied. The applicable due date was 31 October 2023, and the return, revised return, and Form 10IE were all filed before then. Tax was therefore required to be computed under the new regime, and the addition made by applying the old regime did not survive.

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Issues: Whether the assessee, being subject to audit-related due date, validly exercised the option under the new tax regime by filing Form 10IE within the prescribed time and was entitled to computation of tax accordingly.

Analysis: The assessee was a partner receiving remuneration from a firm requiring tax audit, so the due date for filing the return was 31 October 2023 and not 31 July 2023. The return was filed on 11 September 2023, the revised return on 21 October 2023, and Form 10IE was also filed on 11 September 2023, all before the applicable due date. The rejection of the new tax regime claim proceeded on an incorrect understanding of the due date.

Conclusion: The option under section 115BAC(5) was validly exercised within time, and tax was required to be computed under the new tax regime in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The addition made by applying the old tax regime did not survive, and the assessee's claim for computation under the new regime was accepted.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the applicable return due date is extended on account of audit-related status, an option for the new tax regime accompanied by the prescribed form, filed before that due date, is a valid exercise of the statutory choice.

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