CBDT circular 30 March 2012
Order [F.NO.225/138/2011/ITA.II
Section 119 of the Income-tax act, 1961 - income-tax authorities - instructions to subordinate authorities - order under section 119(1)
What this is
Order [F.NO.225/138/2011/ITA.II was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 30 March 2012. Its subject is Section 119 of the Income-tax act, 1961 - income-tax authorities - instructions to subordinate authorities - order under section 119(1).
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
Directs that all income-tax offices throughout India remain open on Saturday, 31 March 2012, the closing day of financial year 2011-12, with the receipt counters working during normal office hours. Additional receipt counters may be opened where required on 30 and 31 March 2012 to help taxpayers file their returns, and the instructions are to be given wide publicity. The direction is issued under section 119 for administrative convenience.
Why it was issued
The last day of the financial year fell on a Saturday, and the Board wished the offices and receipt counters to be available so that taxpayers could file conveniently.
Who it reaches
- Taxpayers filing returns or paying tax on the last day of financial year 2011-12
- Income-tax offices and receipt counter staff on 30 and 31 March 2012
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.
| Under the 1961 Act | Now |
|---|
| s.119 | s.239 |
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 under section 119(1)
order [F.No.225/138/2011/ITA.II], dated 30-3-2012
The Financial Year 2011-12 closes on 31-3-2012 falling on Saturday. All the Income Tax Offices throughout India shall remain open on this day and the receipts counters shall also work during normal office hours. This direction is issued for administrative convenience by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in exercise of powers conferred under section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Special arrangements may also be made by way of opening additional receipt counters, wherever required on 30th and 31st March, 2012 to facilitate the taxpayers in filing their returns of income conveniently. These instructions may be given wide publicity.
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What to watch
- The order does no more than keep counters open; it extends no due date and grants no relief.
- It is spent, the dates it names having passed more than a decade ago.
- Similar orders issue year by year, so a filing at the end of a different year needs that year's own order.
- It is an administrative order under section 119(1) addressed to the Department, not a clarification of law.
Where you meet it
Only in establishing that a return or challan was tendered over the counter on 31 March 2012, a Saturday, and so was in time.
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.
