Delay in filing Form 10-IC for the concessional corporate tax...

Delay in filing Form 10-IC for the concessional corporate tax regime may be condoned where the return was filed on time, the option was disclosed in the return, tax was paid at the concessional rate, and the omission was a bona fide lapse. The HC treated the delay as a case of genuine hardship, noting that the relevant circulars showed an intent to grant relief in fit cases, including the period affected by COVID-19 and the initial years of the regime. It held that the authority should have taken a justice-oriented approach rather than reject condonation on the basis that a tax manager's or consultant's lapse could never justify relief. The rejection and consequential denial of the benefit were set aside.