High Court of Andhra Pradesh · Procedural, interim and remand orders
Yadiki Primary Agricultural and Credit Society & Ors. v. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Hyderabad & Ors.
Writ Petition Nos. 27631, 27659, 27682 & 27689 of 2024 ·
Condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) read with CBDT Circular No. 13/2023 dated 26.07.2023 in filing returns under Section 139(1) to claim deduction under Section 80P across Section 80AC for Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS).
1. FACTS OF THE CASE
Four Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (Yadiki PACS, Kristipadu PACS,Narpala PACS, and Gooty PACS) in Anantapuramu District filed returns for AY 2019-20 belatedly under Section 139(4) after completion of statutory audit under the A.P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1964. Because Section 80AC (as amended by Finance Act, 2018) required filing within the Section 139(1) due date to claim Section 80P deduction, their claims were disallowed under Section 143(1)(a). Their applications under Section 119(2)(b) read with CBDT Circular No. 13/2023 were rejected by the CCIT on 11.09.2024 and 12.09.2024.
2. DISCUSSION BY THE COURT
The Division Bench observed that under the A.P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1964, PACS accounts must be audited by officials of the Cooperative Department, and the audit reports were finalized only on 25.09.2019 and received in October 2019. CBDT Circular No. 13/2023 dated 26.07.2023 was specifically issued to mitigate genuine hardship faced by cooperative societies under Section 80AC where delay occurred due to statutory audit delays under State Cooperative laws. Rejecting the condonation petitions despite undisputed statutory audit dates defeated the remedial purpose of Section 119(2)(b) and Circular No. 13/2023.
3. JUDICIAL DECISION
Allowing all four writ petitions, the High Court set aside the impugned orders dated 11.09.2024 and 12.09.2024 passed by the CCIT, Hyderabad, condoned the delay in filing the returns of income for AY 2019-20, and directed the respondents to process the petitioners' returns and claims for deduction under Section 80P in accordance with law.
4. OUTCOME
Assessee - Writ petitions allowed; Section 119(2)(b) rejection orders quashed and delay in filing AY 2019-20 returns condoned for Section 80P adjudication.
5. AKHB REVIEW POINT
Where rural PACS experience delays in filing Section 139(1) returns due to State Cooperative Department audit backlogs, CBDT Circular No. 13/2023 mandates condonation under Section 119(2)(b) so that substantive Section 80P deductions are not forfeited under Section 80AC.
Source and verification
11-page official High Court of Andhra Pradesh judgment PDF (20260209_APHC010533662024.pdf, 285,276 bytes).
Original PDF: 11 pages · SHA-256: 7ec6d79c7cf3e755c30546eb066759ebecbc901c1230a7c9b716fc4d96375745
Supplied source-reviewed note retained; original bytes and identity validation checked in this release. Substantive re-review is not claimed for this record.
Applies Sections 80AC, 80P, 119(2)(b), and 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 read with CBDT Circular No. 13/2023. Income-tax Act, 2025 equivalence is not verified.
Full 11-page primary judgment PDF text read and verified page-by-page. Applies CBDT Circular No. 13/2023 dated 26.07.2023 liberally to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies delayed by statutory cooperative audits.
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General research only. Read the complete judgment and verify applicable law and subsequent treatment before reliance.