Tax authority cannot relax s.44AB; must extend s.139(1) due date to effect specified date extension

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....HC held that the tax authority lacks power to relax s.44AB but, to give effect to its notification extending the "specified date" for furnishing the tax audit report, the authority should concomitantly relax s.139(1) by extending the due date for filing returns, thereby automatically extending the s.44AB "specified date." The Court directed the respondent tax Board to explain why it has not issued a simultaneous notification extending the s.139(1) due date and required justification for not making the deemed extension operative. The decision mandates administrative action to align return-filing and audit-report timelines and preserves the taxpayers' entitlement to an extended specified date.....