TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (11) TMI 167
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.... MR.VARUN K.PATEL(3802) for the Respondent(s) No. 3 ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA) Heard learned advocate Mr. Dhinal A. Shah, learned advocate Mr. Parth Contractor with learned advocate Mr. Dhruven Shah and learned advocate Mr. Avinash Poddar for the petitioners in the respective petitions and learned Senior Standing Counsel Mr. Varun K. Patel for the respondents. Order in CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR AMENDMENT) NO. 1 of 2025 In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13589 of 2025 This Application is filed seeking amendment in the main petition. Considering the averments made in the application, amendment as prayed for is granted. Amendment to be carried out forthwith. Civil Application stands disposed of. ....
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....ing the audit report has been redressed. However, learned advocates for the petitioners submitted that as per Explanation (ii) to section 44AB "specified date" has to be one month prior to due date of filing the return as per section 139(1) of the Act and therefore, the respondents ought to have also issued simultaneous notification for extending the due date of filing of return upto 30.11.2025. Reliance was placed on the decision of this Court in case of All Gujarat Federation of Tax Consultants v. Central Board of Direct Taxes (Judgment dated 22.09.024 rendered in Special Civil Application No.12656 of 2014 and allied matter) wherein it is held as under: "78. At this juncture it may be pertinent to note that section 44AB of ....
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....mber of the assessment year; (b) in the case of a person other than a company, referred to in the first proviso to this sub-section, the 31st day of October of the assessment year; (c) in the case of any other assessee, the 31st day of July of the assessment year; 79. On a combined reading of the above provisions, it is abundantly clear that the expressions "specified date" in section 44AB and "due date" in section 139 of the Act are inextricably linked together. The legislative intent is clear. Namely that, the due date for filing return of income and the specified date for furnishing tax audit report under section 44AB of the Act should be the same. The Board in exercise of powers under section 119 of the Act, t....
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.... "due date" and not "specified date" in the said notification. However, it cannot be gainsaid that there cannot be two due dates, one for the purposes of filing of return under section 139 of the Act and the other for the purpose of determining the specified date under section 44AB of the Act. 81. Nonetheless, for the purpose of extending the due date for obtaining and furnishing the report of audit under section 44AB of the Act, the Board, in exercise of powers under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 119 of the Act, can relax the provisions of section 139 of the Act and can extend the due date for filing the return of income, in which case, the specified date under section 44AB of the Act would stand automatically extended.....
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....e would amount to legislation on the part of the court. However, as noticed earlier, the Board is duly empowered under sub-section (2) of section 119 of the Act, to relax the provisions of section 139 of the Act, whereas there is no power to relax the provisions of section 44AB of the Act. The Board, however, by the notification dated 20th August, 2014, has relaxed provisions of section 44AB of the Act for assessment year 2014-15 without extending the due date for filing the return of income. Thus, in the absence of any statutory power vested in the Board to relax the provisions of section 44AB of the Act, the notification dated 20th August, 2014 has no legs to stand on its own. The only remedy available for the Board to sustain the validit....