Circular No. DSM/BY/KP-163/10 — Release no. dsm/by/kp 163/10 dated 17 5 2010

What this is

Circular No. DSM/BY/KP-163/10 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 17 May 2010. Its subject is Release no. dsm/by/kp 163/10 dated 17 5 2010.

This is a clarification. The Board is stating how it reads a provision. That reading binds the department; it does not bind a court, and where the section says otherwise the section wins.

What it does

Answers press reports that electronic filing had become risky because the security certificate of the department's portal lapsed on 8 May 2010. The Board says renewal was set in motion well before the certificate lapsed, that pending completion of the certification the electronic filing facility for assessment year 2010-11 was temporarily suspended, and that the facility was expected back very shortly. It adds that no taxpayer is prejudiced, since the earliest return for that assessment year fell due only on 31 July 2010, and that the portal remains fully secure - a lapsed certificate does not mean its security features were weakened or compromised.

Why it was issued

A section of the media had reported that electronic filing had turned risky on the lapse of the security certificate, and the Board issued the clarification in reply.

Who it reaches

Taxpayers who tried to file electronically for assessment year 2010-11 in May 2010
Return preparers and intermediaries using the portal

The instrument, as the Board published it

The words below are the department’s own, reproduced from its published text. Where the department’s copy carried a publisher’s notes after the instrument, those are not reproduced.

PRESS NOTE
INCOME-TAX ACT
CBDT Clarification on Security of e-Filing Portal
PRESS RELEASE NO. DSM/BY/KP-163/10, DATED 17-5-2010
A section of the media has reported that e-filing of Income-tax returns had turned risky as the security certification of the Income-tax department’s Internet portal had lapsed on 8th May, 2010.
In this regard, it has been clarified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that the process for renewal of the security certificate of the departments e-filing portal was initiated well in time before it lapsed on 8th May, 2010. Pending completion of certification procedure, the e-filing facility for assessment year 2010-11 has been temporarily suspended. This will not affect taxpayers in any way, as the earliest Income-tax return for assessment year 2010-11 falls due on 31st July, 2010. The facility is expected to be renewed very shortly.
It is also clarified that the e-filing portal of the Income-tax department remains fully secure and lapse of the security certificate does not mean that its security features are slackened or compromised.
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What to watch

It is a press clarification, not an extension of any date - the filing dates for assessment year 2010-11 were untouched.
The suspension was of the facility for that assessment year while the certificate was renewed, and it was described as temporary.
Nothing here bears on the validity of a return already filed.

Where you meet it

Only as background where the availability of the filing portal in May 2010 is in question.

← Circular No. 4/2010 · Circular No. BY/KP/GN-151/10 →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.