TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (8) TMI 1614
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.... in filing the return of income for Assessment Year 2021-2022 is rejected. 4. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner is a partnership firm engaged in the business of trading and installation of electronic goods. It is the case of the petitioner that they had appointed M/s K.A. Shah & Co. Chartered Accountants to carry out Tax Audits under section 44AB of the Act and to comply with various provisions and procedures of the Act including filing of return of income every year. Accordingly, the filing of return of income of the petitioner was handled by M/s K.A. Shah & Co. Chartered Accountants. 5. It is the case of the petitioner that M/s K.A. Shah & Co. Chartered Accountants had completed the Tax Audit of the petitioner for Assessment Year 2021-2022 on 12.01.2022 as the last date for filing return of income was extended to 15.03.2022 due to Covid-19. The Tax Audit report was also uploaded by M/s K.A. Shah & Co. Chartered Accountants on the ITBA portal on 13.01.2022. The petitioner was also informed by their Chartered Accountant that the return of income for Assessment Year 2021-2022 would also be filed before time. Thereafter, upon inquiry, the petitioner was informed t....
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....rting documents nor has he placed anything on record to show that the petitioner could not file return of income in due time due to the mistake of their Chartered Accountant and furthermore, the petitioner in any circumstances cannot lay blame solely on the Chartered Accountant for failure to file return of income as filing of return is a process which involves verification by the managing partner of the petitioner firm as well. 10. Being aggrieved by the impugned order, the petition has preferred the present petition. 11. Learned advocate Mr. Bhati submitted that the respondent has failed to consider the Certificate issued by the Chartered Accountant dated 28.03.2023 wherein it is stated that due to illness of the designated Chartered Accountant in the second week of February, the return of income of assessee could not be filed which came to the knowledge only after 31.03.2022 by which time the last date for filing the return had elapsed. It was therefore, submitted that there was genuine hardship on part of the petitioner which was not considered by the respondent while rejecting the application preferred by the petitioner under section 119(2)(b) of the Act to condone delay....
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....tion is required and the verification has to be done by the authorized person and as per the record on system, the authorized persons are partners and they were required to verify the ITR electronically through OTP or digital signature. Therefore, the partner will have knowledge about the filing of the return as only he/she has to verify the return via OTP. Further, Income Tax Departments regularly sends messages for filing of Income Tax Returns. Even after return filed and e-verification of return filed, the Income Tax Department sends messages and confirmation email of filing of return. Therefore, the claim of the assessee with regard to the partners being unaware about non-filing of return, is not found correct." 13. It was therefore, submitted that no interference is called for while exercising extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India and the petition may be dismissed. 14. Having heard the learned advocates for the respective parties and having considered the facts of the case, it is apparent that the Chartered Accountant has already uploaded and filed audited Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet which was duly sent on 13.01.....
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....ar is issued for Assessment Years 2016-17 and 2017-18, the same analogy would apply for Assessment Year 2015-16 also and as the petitioner has shown the inadvertent delay on part of the clerical staff of the Chartered Accountant who was suffering from brain tumor, the same cannot be discarded from purview of genuine hardship. The reasons assigned by the respondent are also not proper inasmuch as the respondent has adopted a pedantic approach in rejecting the application to condone the delay by observing as under : "8. Having gone through the above facts, I am of the opinion that the assessee has not shown any genuine hardship on account of which the lapse occurred. It has merely taken the excuse on account of the clerical staff of Chartered Accountant that too without any supporting evidences. By assigning any work to any external agency the onus of statutory duty does not get shifted. As per provisions of section 12A(1)(b) of I.T. Act, the assessee should have ensured that the audit report duly signed by the accountant, as defined in Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288 of the Act, is submitted alongwith the return of income on time. The assessee has relied up....