Section 26 - Amendment of section 139 - Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1970

26. Amendment of section 139. In section 139 of the Income-tax Act,-- (a) in sub-section (1), for the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely:- Provided that, on an application made in the prescribed manner, the Income-tax Officer may, in his discretion, extend the date for furnishing the return, and, notwithstanding that the date is so extended, interest shall be chargeable in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (8). ; (b) sub-section (1A) shall be omitted; (c) in sub-section (2), for the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely:- Provided that, on an application made in the prescribed manner, the Income-tax Officer may, in his discretion, extend the date for furnishing the return, and, notwithstanding that the date for furnishing the return, whether fixed originally or on extension, falls beyond the 30th day of September, referred to in sub-section (8), interest shall be chargeable in accordance with the provisions of the said sub-section. ; (d) in sub-section (3), after the words, brackets and figure within the time allowed under sub-section (1) , the words or within such further time which, on an application made in the prescribed manner, the Income-tax Officer may, in his discretion, allow shall be inserted; (e) in sub-section (4), in clause (a), for the words, brackets and figures and the provisions of clause (iii) of the proviso to sub- section (1) shall apply in every such case , the words, brackets and figure and the provisions of sub-section (8) shall apply in every such case shall be substituted; (f) for sub-section (8), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:- (8) (a) Where the return under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (4) for an assessment year is furnished after the 30th day of September of the assessment year, or is not furnished, then [whether or not the Income-tax Officer has extended the date for furnishing the return under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)], the assessee shall be liable to pay simple interest at nine per cent. per annum, reckoned from the 1st day of October of the assessment year to the date of the furnishing of the return or, where no return has been furnished, the date of completion of the assessment under section 144, on the amount of the tax payable on the total income as determined on regular assessment, as reduced by the advance tax, if any, paid and any tax deducted at source: Provided that in the case of any person whose total income includes any income from business or profession, the previous year in respect of which expired after the 31st day of December of the year immediately preceding the assessment year, such interest shall be reckoned from the 1st day of January instead of the 1st day of October of the assessment year: Provided further that the Income-tax Officer may, in such cases and under such circumstances as may be prescribed, reduce or waive the interest payable by any person under this sub-section. Explanation. For the purposes of this sub-section, where the assessee is a registered firm or an unregistered firm which has been assessed under clause (b) of section 183, the tax payable on the total income shall be the amount of tax which would have been payable if the firm had been assessed as an unregistered firm. (b) Where as a result of an order under section 154 or section or section 250 or section 254 or section 260 or section 262 or on 264, the amount of tax on which interest was payable under this sub-section has been reduced, the interest shall be reduced accordingly, and the excess interest paid, if any, shall be refunded . .