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TMI Blog2024 (9) TMI 585X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , the assessees are most likely to depend on the professional services of their Chartered Accountants. Once a Chartered Accountant is engaged and there is a genuine dependence on his services, such as in the present case, whose personal difficulties had caused a delay in filing of the petitioners returns, was certainly a cause beyond the control of the petitioners / assessees. In these circumstances, the assessee, being at no fault, should have been the primary consideration of the PCIT The reasons can be manifold like illness either of himself or his family members, as a result of which he was unable to timely discharge his professional obligation. There could also be a likelihood that for such reasons, of impossibility of any services bei ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... SEKHAR SUNDARESAN, JJ. For the Petitioner : Mr. Nishit Gandhi a/w. Ms. Aadnya Bhandari. For the Respondents : Ms. Mamta Omle a/w. Mr. Pritish Chatterjee. ORAL JUDGMENT (PER G. S. KULKARNI, J.) 1. The reliefs as prayed for in these petitions are similar, which assail orders passed by Principal Commissioner of Income-tax, Mumbai (PCIT), whereby the application filed by the petitioners under section 119 (2) (b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 praying for condonation of delay in filing the return of income has been rejected. 2. The petitioners in all these petitions are members of one family. Their accounts as also all issues in relation to their income-tax returns were handled by a Chartered Accountant, who could not take timely steps on account o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by him, and/or the case of the petitioners was not genuine. Also there is no contrary material on record, that the petitioner s case on such ground was required to be rejected. 5. We have heard learned counsel for the parties. We have also perused the record. 6. In our opinion, the approach of PCIT appears to be quite mechanical, who ought to have been more sensitive to the cause which was brought before him when the petitioner prayed for condonation of delay. In such context, we may observe that it can never be that technicalities and rigidity of rules of law would not recognize genuine human problems of such nature, which may prevent a person from achieving such compliances. It is to cater to such situations the legislature has made a pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... members, as a result of which he was unable to timely discharge his professional obligation. There could also be a likelihood that for such reasons, of impossibility of any services being provided/performed for his clients when tested on acceptable materials. Such human factors necessarily require a due consideration when it comes to compliances of the time limits even under the Income Tax Act. The situation in hand is akin to what a Court would consider in legal proceedings before it, in condoning delay in filing of proceedings. In dealing with such situations, the Courts would not discard an empathetic /humane view of the matter in condoning the delay in filing legal proceedings, when law confers powers to condone the delay in the litiga ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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