TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (12) TMI 1277
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....024-2025 so as to allow the assessees at large to take complete benefit of the rebate available under Section 87A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. According to the petitioner, the respondents have unilaterally disabled assessees from claiming rebate under Section 87A after 5 July 2024 by modifying the utility software for filing income-tax returns. As a result, if the returns are filed by the assessees using the software of the respondents after 5 July 2024, they are unable to claim the rebate. The petitioner contends that this unilateral modification is arbitrary, lacks justification, and deprives eligible taxpayers of statutory benefits. The petitioner further asserts that the respondents' actions violate the principles of fairness and transp....
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....o Rs. 12,500. This increase was intended to extend greater relief to the same income group, aligning with the Government's policy of providing fiscal support to economically weaker sections of society. The petitioner contends that the principle behind Section 87A has always been to ensure that taxpayers in lower-income brackets are not burdened unduly, and the arbitrary disabling of the rebate through the modification of utility software undermines this legislative intent. 4. From Assessment Year 2024-2025 onwards, an assessee being an individual resident in India whose income is chargeable to tax under the proposed sub-section (1A) of Section 115BAC shall now be entitled to a rebate of 100% of the amount of income tax payable on a total i....
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....ompliance, but the petitioner argues that they should not preclude eligible taxpayers from availing statutory benefits, such as the rebate under Section 87A. 6. The returns of income are mandatorily required to be filed online. Respondent No. 1 annually releases utilities for filing income tax returns online. These utilities are generally released before the end of the financial year to ensure taxpayers have sufficient time to comply with their obligations. However, the petitioner points out that the modification of the utility for Assessment Year 2024-2025 midway through the assessment year has caused undue hardship to taxpayers, particularly those relying on the rebate under Section 87A. 7. The respondents published a change in the util....
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....ial to uphold the legislative intent of providing relief to taxpayers in lower-income brackets and to ensure that procedural changes do not defeat substantive rights. 10. Mr. Pardiwala, learned Senior Advocate representing the petitioner, invited our attention to Section 115BAC and Section 87A of the Act and submitted that a conjoint reading of the relevant provisions indicates that the rebate under Section 87A is available on tax calculated even on income taxable at special rates. He argued that the statutory right created by the proviso to Section 87A cannot be extinguished or restricted through executive instructions or modifications to the utility software. He further emphasized that such executive action undermines the rule of law and....
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.... under Section 87A does not depend on the claim made in the return of income. The same depends on statutory criteria, i.e., quantum of income, regime of tax paid, and nature of income forming part of total income. It is submitted that rebate under Section 87A is not similar to claims of deductions and exemptions which need to be claimed in the return and, therefore, there is no requirement that the assessee has to claim rebate for filing the said tax benefit. 13. The issue which arises for consideration in the present writ petition is, therefore, as to whether the utility in the form of software can take away the statutory right to claim rebate as per the proviso to Section 87A and is it necessary for an assessee to make a claim for seekin....
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....he taxpayer. The responsibility lies with the tax authorities to ensure proper implementation of the rebate, as long as the taxpayer fulfills the statutory criteria. Procedural changes, such as those in utility software or instructions issued by the tax department, cannot override the substantive right to the rebate. Any action or inaction on part of the tax authorities that limits the ability of taxpayers to avail of this statutory benefit is arbitrary and violative of the rule of law. Taxpayers should not bear the consequences of administrative inefficiencies or unilateral executive actions that undermine the legislative intent behind Section 87A. 16. It is well-settled that statutory benefits must be extended in a manner that aligns wit....