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TMI Blog2025 (2) TMI 1127X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt compliance if the said Form is filed/available before the AO at the time of assessment. Further if the assessee has opted for taxation u/s 115BAA of the Act and filed Form No. 10IC or 10IE electronically on or before 31.01.2024 or 3 months from the end of the month in which the CBDT Circular ( no 19/2023 dated 23.10.2023) is issued and whichever is later, then the delay in filing of Form No. 10-IC as per Rule 21AE of the Rules for previous year relevant to A.Y. 2021-22 is liable to be condoned. Undoubtedly the benevolent provisions cannot be read or interpreted in the restrictive manner or in isolation to the propose or object of introducing the provisions and the Courts are supposed to interpret the benevolent provisions of the law in such a way that real effects of the same would come. Coming to the instant case, we observe that till the date of processing the return filed by the Assessee for the A.Y. 2022-23, Form No.10IE for exercising the option for availing the benefits of new tax regime filed on 10-01-2022 for the AY 2021-22 was neither withdrawn nor rejected or made invalid but the same was still available or effective before the AO during the assessment proceedings or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nsider the return filed by the Assessee for the A.Y. 2022-23 under the new tax regime and consequently denied the benefit of new tax regime, which resulted into demand of Rs. 90,160/- for the A.Y. 2022-23. 5. The Assessee being aggrieved is in appeal before us. Ms. Kshipra Singhvi, Ld. Counsel of the Assessee at the outset submitted that new tax regime is benevolent provision and once opted by filling Form 10IE, cannot be denied until and unless option exercised is withdrawn. In this case it is a fact that till date, the Assessee never withdrawn its option exercised for new tax regime which was exercised by filling Form no.10IE on 10-01-2022 for the AY 2021-22 and therefore the decisions of the Authorities below in treating the return filed by the Assessee under old tax regime, are liable to be set aside. Ms. Kshipra Singhvi, Ld. Counsel, in support of aforesaid contentions, also relied on various judgments. 6. On the contrary, the Ld. D.R. Shri Praveen Shrivastava {Sr. A.R.} by drawing out attention to the relevant provisions of the law as applicable to the instant case has submitted that it is the mandate of the provisions of section 115BAC of the Act that if the option for new ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce, if the said Form is filed before the AO at the time of assessment", by analyzing the provisions of law and the relevant judgments available up to the date of decision i.e. upto 24.07.2024 including in the case of PCIT vs. KGY Glass Industries P Ltd., (2023) 156 taxmann.com18 (Gujarat) by the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court wherein it was held "where Form 10-1C was required to be filed by the domestic company within time allowed u/s 139(1) of the Act, opting to be taxed as per provisions of section 115BBA, was not practically possible due to technical glitches in the portal, then in absence of any fault on the part of the assessee, the Assessee cannot be deprived of benefit under section 115BBA of the Act." For ready reference and brevity, the concluding part of the judgment of the Hon'ble co-ordinate Bench of the Tribunal is reproduced herein below: "10.2 We find that an identical issue has been decided by the coordinate bench of the ITAT, Pune in the case of Akshay Devendra Birari vs DCIT, CPC, Bangalore, in ITA no 782/ PUN/ 2024 dated 05/06/2024, where the Hon'ble Bench has held on the facts case that filing of Form 10-IE is not a mandatory requirement but only directory in natu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the facts of respective cases, cited above, we are in agreement with the decision of the coordinate bench of the Pune tribunal in the case of Akshay Devendra Birani (supra), and we hold that requirement of filing form 10-IE is directory in nature and not mandatory and it is sufficient compliance if the said form is before the AO at the time of assessment. As such we direct the CPC to take into consideration the form 10-IE filed by the assessee and pass appropriate orders. 11. In the result, the appeal of the assessee bearing ITA No. 25/Asr/2024 is allowed for statistical purposes." 7.4 We further observe that recently the co-ordinate Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Pran panda vs. ITO Ward, 2(1) ITA no.1509 & 1510/Kol/2024 decided on 04.01.2024 has also dealt with the identical issue, "where the Assessee failed to file form 10IE within the prescribed due date but otherwise the Assessee complied with the other conditions u/s 115BBE of the Act then the Assessee would be entitled to get the benefit of such tax regime". 7.5 We further observe that the CBDT vide Circular no 19/2023 dated 23.10.2023 considering the identical issue and genuine hardships, issued the following d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng as under: "12. In view of the above facts, we are of the considered view that the assessee deserves to get the benefit of lower tax rate prescribed by section 115BAA for AY 2021-22 as well, considering that the CBDT itself had relaxed the condition regarding filing of Form 10IC and provided a window for late submission of the same. The assessee having filed Form 10IC for AY 2022-23 on 22.09.2022 i.e. much before the issue of CBDT circular dated 23.10.2023, was not able to file another Form 10IC on the system. Simply because of the technical glitch in the system, the assessee cannot be denied the benefit of the circular when all other conditions are satisfied. We, therefore, direct that the Form 10IC filed on 22.09.2022 (albeit for AY 2022-23) should be deemed to have been filed for AY 2021-22 in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and benefit of section 115BAA should be allowed for & from AY 2021-22 to the assessee." 7.7 On the aforesaid facts, circumstances, analyzations and the judgments referred to above, we are of the considered view that until and unless the option exercised for the new tax regime by filling Form-10IE has been rendered invalid due to violati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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