Circular No. 6/2021

Condonation of delay under section 119 2 b of the income tax act 1961 in filing of form no. 10BB for a.y. 2016 17 and subsequent years

What this is

Circular No. 6/2021 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 26 March 2021. Its subject is Condonation of delay under section 119 2 b of the income tax act 1961 in filing of form no. 10BB for a.y. 2016 17 and subsequent years.

This is a condonation. It lets an authority admit something filed late; it does not make the late filing timely, and it usually carries conditions and an outer limit of its own.

What it does

Puts a disposal timeline on petitions to condone delay in filing Form No. 10BB. In partial modification of Circular No. 19/2020 dated 3 November 2020, the last sentence of paragraph 4(i) of that circular is to be read as directing that all pending applications, and applications received from then on, be disposed of preferably within three months from the end of the month in which the application is received. The modification takes effect from 31 March 2021.

Why it was issued

The Board was told that the Exemption Charges were continuously receiving applications to condone delay in filing Form No. 10BB for years prior to assessment year 2018-19.

Who it reaches

Funds, universities, hospitals and other institutions that filed Form No. 10BB late
Applicants whose condonation petitions were lying undisposed with the Exemption Charges
Commissioners in the Exemption Charges deciding those petitions

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 department publishes this one only as a PDF, so the words below were read out of that PDF by machine. That reading can carry its own mistakes — a misread number, a broken line. Check the signed document before you rely on a figure in it.

F.No.197/49/2021-ITA-1
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
Circular No. 01/2021
North Block, New Delhi, the 31st March, 2021

Sub: Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No. 10BB for A.Y. 2016-17 and subsequent years- Reg.

It has been brought to the notice of the Board that the Exemption Charges are continuously receiving applications for condonation of delay in filing Form 10BB for years prior to A.Y. 2018-19.

2. In view of the above, in partial modification of Circular No. 19/2020 dated 03.11.2020, the last sentence of Para 4(i) of the Circular may be read as under:

"Further, all such pending applications as well as applications received henceforth shall be disposed off preferably within three months from the end of the month in which the application is received."

3. This modification takes effect from 31st day of March, 2021.

Copy to:
1. PS to FM/OSD to FM/PS to MoS (R)/OSD to MoS(R)
2. PS to Secretary(Finance)/(Revenue)
3. Chairman, CBDT & All Members, CBDT
4. All Principal Chief Commissioners of Income-tax / Principal Director Generals of Income-tax
5. Pro Chief Controller of Accounts, New Delhi
6. All Joint Secretaries/CSIT, CBDT
7. Web Manager, O/O PrDGIT(Systems) with request to upload on the departmental website
8. Commissioner of Income-tax (Media & TP) and official Spokesperson, CBDT, New Delhi
9. Secretary General, IRS Association/ Secretary General, ITGONAL - India Income Tax SC & ST Employees' Welfare Association / Income Tax Employees Federation (ITEF)
10. Addl. CIT, Data-Base Cell for uploading on IRS officer's website

[Gulzar Ahmad Wani]
JCIT(OSD)(ITA-1)

What to watch

Nothing substantive changes - the conditions on which delay is condoned stay in Circular No. 19/2020, which has to be read for them.
The three month period is 'preferably', not a mandate, so it is a ground to press for disposal rather than a right to relief on expiry.
It applies to petitions already pending as well as to fresh ones.
The scan carries a circular number and a date that do not match the record, so verify both against the published text before citing it.

Where you meet it

When a petition to condone delay in filing Form No. 10BB has been lying with the Exemption Charge and disposal has to be pressed for.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 10BB

It mentions. Circular No. 01/2021, Circular No. 19/2020

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

← Circular No. 8/2021 · Circular No. 7/2021 →

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.