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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Income Tax Department for delaying tactics in not allowing an assessee to file a revised return, where the taxpayer had inadvertently paid tax on the same income for two assessment years. Sojitz Asia Pte. Ltd., an income tax payee, had offered its interest income of INR 75.89 million for tax in two assessment years 2016-17 (Apr-Mar) and 2018-19, the court noted.

 

"... it was only because of the delay dallying tactics or non-cooperative attitude of the respondents (tax department), that the petitioner had to roam from pillar to post and the redressal of petitioner's grievance has taken a period of about 6 years," the high court said. Refusing to grant indulgence to Sojitz Asia amounted to unjust enrichment on the part of the Union of India, the court said. As a consequence, if the petitioner's assertions are correct, the Union of India has subjected the petitioner to tax payment on two occasions, on the amount of INR 75.89 million, first in assessment year 2016-17 and second in assessment year 2018-19, it said.

 

The high court allowed Sojitz Asia to file an online or offline revised return of income for assessment year 2016-17 on or before Oct. 31. After the revised return is filed, the assessing officer should consider the same in accordance with law and, after verifying the facts, pass appropriate order within a period of three months, the court said.

 

The Bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta said that Sojitz Asia tried to invoke all possible remedies available to it, firstly by filing a rectification application, which to the petitioner's dismay was rejected by the assessing officer on "rather flimsy ground that he cannot reduce the gross total income". Further, the Commissioner of Income Tax also rejected the petitioner's revision application, observing that no special circumstance warranted the exercise of his discretionary power.

 

The Commissioner of Income Tax has "seriously erred" in coming to such a conclusion, the court said. Special circumstances cannot be confined to a predefined formula or limited expression, the court said. This was perhaps one of the better cases for exercising discretionary power, it said. Even the government can charge tax only once in one assessment year on a particular income and not twice, it said. The high court rejected the Income Tax Department's argument that the petitioner has not been able to show hardship caused to it. Paying tax twice over the same income by itself is a hardship, the court said.   End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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