HC condoned delay in uploading audit report Form 10B by 1 hour, 19 minutes and 16 seconds due to technical glitch
In a recent judgment, the Orrisa High Court condoned the delay in uploading audit report in Form 10B by 1 hour, 19 minutes and 16 seconds due to technical glitch, observing that such delay would not have hampered work of revenue in dealing with the report.
ABCAUS Case Law Citation:
4404 (2025) (02) abcaus.in HC
In the instant case, the assessee/Petitioner had filed a Writ Petition challenging the order of the CIT/Revenue passed u/s 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) declining to condone the delay in uploading the audit report in Form 10B.
The Petitioner was a trust duly registered under the provisions of the Act. It was exempted from paying income tax. The Petitioner was required to online audit report.
However, there was a delay of 1 hour, 19 minutes and 16 seconds in uploading the audit report at the incometax e-filing portal. It was not accepted as application for condonation of delay stood rejected by impugned order made by the authority.
The attention of the Hon’ble High Court was drawn to the order and it was submitted that purported reason given for rejection was that reasons mentioned for delay were not sufficient and it was not a fit case for condoning delay in exercise of power under section 119(2)(b) of the Act read with provisions of circular dated 9th June, 2015 issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
The Hon’ble High Court observed that the authority considered the reason given by petitioner for the delay to be mere asking on the basis of vague assertion without proof. Required proof, therefore, was reason for technical glitch causing delay in uploading the report. The delay was of 1 hour, 19 minutes and 16 seconds. The report stood uploaded beyond midnight of the last date, at 1:19 and 16 seconds in the following morning of 1st November.
The Hon’ble High Court further observed that the CIT, in impugned order, relied upon view taken by the Delhi High Court that Statutory time limits fixed have to be adhered to as it ensures timely completion of assessments. Discipline on regarding filing of returns have to be complied and respected, time limits unless compelling and good reasons are shown and established for grant of extension of time. Extension of time cannot be claimed as a vested right on mere asking and on the basis of vague assertions without proof.
The Hon’ble High Court appreciated that the petitioner may have been very close to the deadline in attempting to upload the report. It may have been a situation, where the pressure of meeting the timeline expiring in a few hours or minutes, there may have been mistakes made in uploading, attributed by petitioner as technical glitch. Even assuming such was the case, the report stood uploaded beyond midnight of the last date by 1 hour, 19 minutes and 16 seconds.
The Hon’ble High Court opined that there has to be pragmatic approach in exercising power to enlarge time. Here the time overrun over is a little more than an hour, on the report uploaded in the wee hours of the next day, 1st November. It can not be imagined the delay would have hampered work of revenue in dealing with the report.
In view of the above, the Hon’ble High Court held that the impugned order was clearly perverse. As such the Impugned order was set aside and quashed and it was directed that the report filed in Form 10B be considered as compliance by petitioner.
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