Allahabad High Court condones delay in depositing tax under Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act

 

Digvendra Pratap Singh (WP No. 1510 of 2022)

Facts:

1. The petitioner had submitted his declaration as required by the Direct Tax Viwad Se Vishwas Act , 2020, within the stipulated timeframe.
2. The designated authority had issued a certificate to him indicating the tax payable and the deadlines for payment.
3. The last date for depositing the arrears of tax had been extended several times, with the final date set as October 31, 2021.
4. On the last date, which happened to be a Sunday, the petitioner dropped a cheque in the bank’s drop box to clear the remaining tax amount.
5. However, the cheque was processed and credited on November 3, 2021, leading to a delay of three days.
6. The petitioner explained that the delay was due to an accident and knee injury he suffered on November 1, 2021, which prevented him from visiting the bank.

Hon. Allahabad HC held as below:

1. Hon. Supreme Court had ruled in the case of M/s. Shekhar Resorts Limited (Unit Hotel Orient Taj) v. Union of India & Ors [CA No. 8957 of 2022], where it was noted that if a delay in depositing arrears of tax under the scheme is due to extraordinary circumstances such as sickness of the declarant and there’s no one to manage their affairs, then the court should allow the declarant to deposit the amount despite the delay.
2. A delay of three days in depositing the arrears of tax of Rs. 8,67,137 should be condoned, and the remaining balance tax deposited by the petitioner should be accepted.