CBDT circular 31 July 2012
Order [F. NO. 225/163/2012/ITA.II], dated 31-7-2012
Section 119 of the Income TAX Act, 1961 - Income TAX Authorities - Instructions to Subordinate Authorities - Order Extending DUE Date for Filing Income TAX Returns for A.y. 2012-13
What this is
Order [F. NO. 225/163/2012/ITA.II], dated 31-7-2012 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 31 July 2012. Its subject is Section 119 of the Income TAX Act, 1961 - Income TAX Authorities - Instructions to Subordinate Authorities - Order Extending DUE Date for Filing Income TAX Returns for A.y. 2012-13.
This is an order under section 119 of the 1961 Act — section 239 of the 2025 Act. Section 119 lets the Board give directions to its own officers and, in defined cases, relax a requirement. It is an administrative power, not a power to rewrite the charge.
What it does
Extends the due date for filing returns of income for assessment year 2012-13 to 31 August 2012 for assessees who were liable to file by 31 July 2012 under section 139. The order is made under section 119.
Why it was issued
Reports of disturbance to general life caused by the failure of power, together with the fact that electronic filing had been made mandatory for a specified category of individuals and Hindu undivided families.
Who it reaches
- Individuals and other non-audit assessees with a 31 July 2012 due date
- Individuals and Hindu undivided families newly brought into compulsory electronic filing
- Advisers handling the July 2012 filing season
The provisions it speaks to
Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.
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.
SECTION 119 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 - INCOME TAX AUTHORITIES - INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBORDINATE AUTHORITIES - ORDER EXTENDING DUE DATE FOR FILING INCOME TAX RETURNS FOR A.Y. 2012-13
ORDER [F. NO. 225/163/2012/ITA.II], DATED 31-7-2012
On consideration of the reports of disturbance of general life caused due to failure of power and further in consideration of the fact that the e-filing of returns for a specified category of individuals and HUF has been made mandatory, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of powers conferred under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, hereby extends the 'due date' of filing of returns of income for the assessment year 2012-13 to 31st August 2012 in respect of assessees who are liable to file such returns by 31st July 2012 as per provisions of section 139 of Income-tax Act, 1961.
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What to watch
- The extension is defined by the original date — anyone liable to file by 31 July 2012 — and does not reach assessees with a later due date.
- It is a one-time extension whose date has passed; the order is spent.
- The filing date moves, but the liability to pay tax and the interest that flows from non-payment do not.
Where you meet it
When testing whether an assessment year 2012-13 return was in time, for interest under section 234A or for carry-forward of losses.
On the same provision
Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.
- Circular No. 6/2026 — Condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10AB electronically for approval under clause(ii) of the first proviso to sectio 2 July 2026
- Circular No. 2/2026 — Order under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for extension of timeline for issuance of tax deducted at source (TD 25 March 2026
- Circular No.15/2025 — Extension of timelines for filing of various reports of audit and income tax returns ITRS for the assessment year 2025 2 29 October 2025
- Circular No. 10/2025 — Relaxation of time limit for processing of returns of income filed electronically which were incorrectly invalidated by 28 July 2025
- Circular No. 7/2025 — Relaxation of time limit for processing of valid returns of income filed electronically pursuant to order u/s 119(2)(b) 25 June 2025
- Circular No. 6/2025 — Extension of due date for furnishing return of income for the Assessment Year 2025-26 27 May 2025
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.
