Gujarat High Court Grants Relief To 82-Yr-Old Lady For Failing To File Income Tax Return, Takes Note Of Age & Ailments

The Gujarat High Court recently granted relief to a senior citizen woman who had failed to file income tax return for Assessment Year 2017-18, taking note of her age as well as the fact that she was suffering from various ailments including Alzheimer disease along with hyper tension and diabetes.

The court observed that the tax authority had while exercising revisional powers under Section 264 Income Tax had simply rejected the woman's revision plea who had submitted that she could not file the return due to default by her accountant and manager. The court said that instead the authority should have positively considered the woman's case without rejecting her plea on technical grounds. 

A division bench of Justice AS Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi observed that as per the petitioner's  Audit Report and documents of return of income showed that the petitioner has been regularly filing her return of income for the Assessment Years from 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19 and 2020-21, however, she was unable to file the return of income for the Financial Year 2017-18.

However, the court said that, it was also not disputed that she had paid tax of Rs. 3,79,710 on 16.05.2020 through chalaan.

"It is also not denied by the respondents that she is 82 years of age and is suffering from Alzheimer disease along with hyper tension and diabetes and is on medication. A categorical stand was taken by the petitioner in her application before the respondent – Commissioner to the extent that it was due to the default of the Accountant & the Manager, who had not informed the filing of return for Assessment Year 2017-18, she could not file the return of this year. However, the Commissioner has simply rejected the application of the petitioner as being not tenable by recording that it was the responsibility of the assessee to file her income tax returns as per the section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961," the court said. 

The court noted that a consistent view had been taken by the Courts reiterating that power under Section 264 is a "wide power" and one that is intended to prevent miscarriage of justice. The court said that it had been held that under Section 264 the Commissioner is empowered to provide relief to an assessee where the law permits the same.

"Thus, in view of settled legal precedent, we are of the opinion that the Commissioner while exercising the powers under the provision of section 264 of the Income Tax Act , ought to have examined positively in favour of the petitioner without rejecting her application on technical grounds. However, we also find that the petitioner has also committed a mistake in not timely responding to the show cause notices and to provide the material. But, at the same time, her age and her ailment cannot be ignored". 

The court was hearing a plea by an 82-year-old woman challenging the order of the tax authority rejecting her revision plea under section 264 of the Income Tax Act, along with the consequential demand notice under Section 156 for the Assessment Year 2017-18. 

The petitioner was stated to be suffering from hyper tension, diabetes, type 2 depression Alzhemier disease from last seven years and due to ill health and inadvertence of her Accountant & Manager, she was unable to file return of income for the Assessment Year 2017-18. 

The counsel appearing for the respondent authority submitted that despite notices issued to the petitioner, she did not respond and despite having given ample opportunity to represent her case during the assessment proceedings and later even during revision proceedings under section 264 of the Income Tax Act, she did not utilize the opportunity. Thus the authority was constrained to pass the impugned order under section 264 of the Income Tax Act rejecting the revision application.

Setting aside the order rejecting the revision application, the high court remanded the matter back to the tax authority to re-examine the assessment of the petitioner and pass appropriate orders in light of the observations made by the high court. 

Case title: SHUSHILABEN JAYANTIBHAI PATEL v/s  THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX VADODARA - 1 & ANR.

R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 11528 of 2023

Click Here To Read/Download Order 

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (Guj) 189