The High Court held that the delay of 80 days in filing the...

The High Court held that the delay of 80 days in filing the Return of Income should be condoned as the petitioner faced genuine hardship due to valid reasons arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The petitioner, a doctor on COVID-19 duty, lost her father to COVID-19, and her family members were also affected. The valuation of land for computing capital gains could not be completed timely as the valuer, a senior citizen, could not conduct physical verification until mid-February 2021 due to the pandemic situation. The court observed that technicalities should not override genuine human problems preventing timely compliance. The reasons provided by the tax authority for rejecting the condonation plea, such as the petitioner being an educated person with access to tax practitioners, were found unacceptable. Consequently, the High Court quashed the tax authority's order and condoned the 80-day delay in filing the Return of Income for the relevant assessment year.