The court ruled that tax credits must be recognized even if not recorded in the official form, as no limitation period restricts a taxpayer’s right to seek redress for corrective filings.

JUDGMENT :

YASHWANT VARMA, J.

1. This writ petition has been preferred seeking the following reliefs:

“a) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, direction and set aside and quash the impugned order dated 23.10.2018 in F. No. PCIT-23/Hari Kishan Sharma/2014-15/1192(2)(b)2018-19/917 by the Respondent No 02 for initiate refund of the amount deposited under TDS which was reflected in PAN No. AHZPS8054N for Rs. 1,68,118/-.

b) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other suitable writ, order or direction for TDS amount deducted from the enhanced compensation and allow the petitioner to file the revised ITR claiming the refund of TDS of Rs, 1,68,118/- (Rupees One Lakh Sixty Thousand One Hundred Eighteen Only) with interest @ 18% PA and damages as per award' No 14/1992-93 may be reflected in the petitioner account in Form 26A in PAN No AHZPS8054N and condone the delay in reflecting the amount in the account of the petitioner.

c) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, direction for interest on the amount deducted till date.

d) Issue any other or further order(s) as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

2. The principal challenge is to the order dated 23 October 2018, pursuant to which the application of the petitioner for being permitted to submit a revised return for the Assessment Year, [AY] 2010-11 and for condoning delay in terms contemplated under Section 119 (2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, [Act] has come to be rejected.

3. Admittedly, the petitioner had duly filed his return for AY 2010-11 on 24 June 2010, offering an income of INR 5,26,580/- to tax. The said return is stated to have been processed under Section 143(1) on 27 January 2011.

4. It however appears that with respect to the compensation which had been received by the petitioner under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, although the Land Acquisition Collector, [LAC] (South) is stated to have made appropriate deductions towards tax payable on compensation, the same was not reflected in the Form 26AS of the petitioner.

5. This constrained him to approach this Court by way of a writ petition seeking an appropriate direction for the LAC (South) to accord credit of Tax Deduction at Source, [TDS] amounting to INR 1,68,118/- against the total enhanced compensation of INR 18,59,239/- received in Financial Year, [FY] 2009-10.

6. The writ petition came to be disposed of by this Court on 25 October 2017 with the LAC (South) being commanded to duly examine the grievance of the petitioner- assessee and accord appropriate TDS credit. It was pursuant to our direction that the LAC (South) issued a revised Form 16A in respect of TDS which already stood deducted and which Form was issued to the petitioner on 02 December 2017. It was in the aforesaid back drop that the petitioner approached the respondent for being permitted to file a revised return for AY 2010-11.

7. The said application has come to be negated by the respondents firstly taking into consideration Circular No. 09/2015 dated 09 June 2015 and in terms of which they take the position that an application for condonation in terms of the instructions issued by the Central Board for Direct Taxes, [CBDT] referred to above is not liable to be entertained beyond 6 years from the end of the AY for which such an application or a claim may be made.

8. The respondents also take the position that even the writ petition had come to be preferred before this Court after an e