TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (7) TMI 1808
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.... 03-02-2022 and has not withdrawn/opted out of the said option of new tax regime u/s. 115BAC of the Act. The assessee inadvertently stated wrong details related to filing of Form 10-IE while filing the original return of income dt. 27-07-2023 as well as revised return dt. 20-10-2023 for AY. 2023-24. In intimation u/s. 143(1) of the Act, dt. 10-01-2024, the Ld. Assessing Officer/Central Processing Unit ("AO/CPC") denied the benefit of new tax regime u/s. 115BAC of the Act to the assessee since the assessee had mentioned in his ITR that he has opted for new retime first time in AY. 2022-23 instead of 2021-22. Also in rectification applications filed u/s. 154 of the Act on 24-01-2024, 19-04-2024 and 07-01-2025, the same error was committed by the assessee. Thereafter, the assessee filed another rectification application u/s. 154 of the Act on 01-02-2025 and also on 16-04-2025 mentioning correct details related to Form 10-IE opting for new tax retime u/s. 115BAC of the Act. However, vide rectification order dt. 28-04-2025 passed u/s. 154 of the Act, the benefit of section 115BAC of the Act has been denied by the Ld.AO/CPC, raising a demand/tax liability of Rs. 47,242/-. 3. Aggrieved....
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....r section 115BAC is statutory and must be exercised strictly in the prescribed form and manner. Courts have consistently held that procedural compliance under special concessional provisions is mandatory (refer CIT v. R. Natarajan [2006] 287 ITR 271 (Mac) and CIT v. V.R. Karpagam [2014] 373 ITR 127 (Mad)). The CPC has acted strictly as per the ITR data and applicable system validations. No evidence is available to show that the assessee had rectified or corrected the ITR error before processing. The subsequent claim during appeal proceedings cannot override the self-declared information in the original filing. Hence, the action of CPC in denying the new regime benefit is in accordance with law. 6. Decision In view of the above analysis: The ITR filed by the assessee for AY 2023-24 declared that the new regime was first opted in AY 2022-23. No valid Form 10-IE for AY 2022-23 exists on record. Therefore, the system rightly processed the return under the old regime. The contention that the error was clerical and should be ignored cannot be accepted in absence of contemporaneous correction or valid revised return b....
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.... of the Act under the new tax regime. In support of his claim, reliance is placed by the Ld.AR on the decision of the Surat Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Meenaben Maheshchandra Patel vs. ITO [2025] 181 taxmann.com 800 (Surat-Trib.). 6. The Ld.DR, on the other hand, supported the order of the Ld.CIT(A)/NFAC. 7. We have heard the Ld. Representatives of the Parties and perused the material available on record as well as Paper Book filed by the Ld.AR on behalf of the assessee. We have also perused the decision cited by the Ld.AR. The facts of the case are not in dispute. The assessee opted for tax determination under new tax regime u/s. 115BAC of the Act for the first time in AY. 2021-22, which was allowed by the Ld.AO/CPC in intimation u/s. 143(1) of the Act. Similarly for AY. 2022-23, the assessee's tax liability was determined as per the provisions of section 115BAC of the Act. However, in AY. 2023-24, while filing the ITR, the assessee inadvertently mentioned the first year of opting new tax regime u/s. 115BAC of the Act as AY. 2022-23 instead of AY. 2021-22. To rectify the said error, the assessee filed rectification application(s) on 01-02-2025 and 16-04-2025. Howeve....
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....e furnished under sub-section (1) of section 139 for a previous year relevant to the assessment year: Provided that the option under clause (i), once exercised for any previous year can be withdrawn only once for a previous year other than the year in which it was exercised and thereafter, the person shall never be eligible to exercise option under this section, except where such person ceases to have any income from business or profession in which case, option under clause ( ii) shall be available". 10. Considering the aforestated relevant provisions of section 115BAC of the Act in light of the facts of the present case narrated above, we find some force in the arguments advanced by the Ld.AR. In our considered opinion, since the assessee has opted for new tax regime u/s. 115BAC of the Act by filing Form 10-IE for AY. 2021-22, it shall continue for AY. 2023-24 as the assessee has not withdrawn the same. Further in subsequent AYs i.e. 2024-25 and 2025-26, the assessee's ITRs are also processed according to the provisions of section 115BAC of the Act. Hence, the assessee is eligible to be assessed as per the provisions of section 115BAC of the Act and the Ld.AO/CPC as we....