Court Rejects Request to Excuse 216-Day Delay in Tax Filing Due to Audit Timing and COVID-19, Citing Lack of Valid Reasons.

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....The court rejected the petitioner's application for condonation of a 216-day delay in filing their Income Tax Returns (ITRs). The reasons cited by the petitioner, delay in receiving the audit report and the COVID-19 outbreak, were not accepted. The audit report was issued on 02.07.2019, and the statements were made available then, so the delay in receiving the report was not a valid reason. The COVID-19 outbreak occurred in March 2020, seven months after the audit report, so it could not justify the delay. The court held that condoning such a delay without genuine hardship would encourage misdeeds and cannot be allowed, especially in revenue matters. The respondent rightly rejected the application as the petitioner failed to justify the delay.....