One day delay in receipt of ITR with CPC Bangalore cannot deny Taxpayer from Opting New Tax Regime: ITAT

The ITAT Delhi ruled that minor procedural delays should not prevent taxpayers from receiving rightful benefits. The tribunal instructed tax authorities to ignore one day of delay in filing relevant documents for e-verifying the return and grant the assessee the benefit of opting for the new tax regime under Section 115BAC.

Sarika Aggarwal has filed an appeal in the ITAT Delhi, challenging an order dated October 31, 2025, passed by the CIT(A). The case belongs to the Assessment Year 2023-24. On July 12, 2023, the assessee had e-filed its income tax return (ITR) for the year in consideration; thereafter, on August 11, 2023, documents were sent to the CPC for e-verification. According to the assessee, the documents had reached the CPC on August 12, 2023. However, the real CPC had received the verification documents on August 13, 2023, which was beyond the statutory time limit of 30 days (leading to the delay of one day). Accordingly, the CPC considered the return as belated and denied her the benefit of opting for the new tax regime under Section 115BAC.

The assessee claimed that the tax authorities cannot deny a taxpayer’s rightful claims merely because of some procedural lapse. When the tribunal analysed the facts of the case, it noted that the taxpayer had furnished evidence showing that delivery was within time, and the tax department could not deny this claim. Further observed that even if the delay had been made, it was only for one day. The Tribunal highlighted that minor procedural delays should not restrict taxpayers from receiving rightful benefits.

Considering the same, the tribunal quashed the impugned CIT(A)’s order and directed the Assessing Officer (tax authorities) to grant the assessee the benefit of opting for the new tax regime under Section 115BAC, ignoring the delay of one day. As a result, the appeal was allowed in favour of the taxpayer.