Circular No. 16/2022

Condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No.10B for Assessment Year 2018-19 and subsequent years

What this is

Circular No. 16/2022 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 19 July 2022. Its subject is Condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No.10B for Assessment Year 2018-19 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

Widens who may condone a late Form No. 10B. Commissioners of Income-tax were already authorised, by the Board's earlier circular of January 2020, to admit and decide applications where the delay was up to 365 days for assessment year 2018-19 or any later year. This circular authorises the Principal Chief Commissioners and Chief Commissioners of Income-tax to admit and decide applications where the delay runs beyond 365 days and up to three years. Whichever authority hears it must be satisfied that reasonable cause prevented timely filing, and should preferably dispose of the application within three months of receipt.

Why it was issued

The earlier delegation covered only delays of up to a year, leaving longer delays with no authority below the Board; this circular fills that gap.

Who it reaches

Charitable and religious trusts that filed Form No. 10B late for assessment year 2018-19 or a later year
Trusts whose delay exceeds one year but is within three years
Commissioners, Chief Commissioners and Principal Chief Commissioners handling condonation applications

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. o.197/89/2022-IT A-I Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes Circular No. 10 12022 New Delhi the l1 July, 2022 Sub: Condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No.1 08 for Assessment Year 2018-19 and subsequent years - Reg. In exercise of the powers conferred under section 119(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'Act'), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) by Circular NO.2 /2020 [F.No. I 97/55 /20 18-ITA-I] dated 03.01.2020 authorized the Commissioners of Income-tax to admit applications of condonation of delay in filing Form No. lOB for A Y 2018-19 or for any subsequent Assessment Years where there is delay of upto 365 days and decide on merits. 2. Further to the powers delegated to Commissioners of Income-tax as discussed above, the CBDT hereby directs that where there is delay of beyond 365 days upto three years in filing Form No. 108 for Assessment Year 2018- 19 or for any subsequent Assessment Years, the Pr. Chief Commissioners of Income-tax 1 Chief Commissioners of Income-tax are authorized to admit such applications of condonation of delay under section 119(2) of the Act and decide on merits. 3. The Pr. Chief Commissioner 1 Chief Commissioner or Commissioners of Income-tax, as the case may be, while entertaining such applications for condonation of delay in filing Form No. lOB, shall satisfy themselves that the applicant was prevented by reasonable cause fi'om filing such Form within the stipulated time. 4. Further, the Pr. Chief Commissioner 1 Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, as the case may be, shall preferably dispose the application within three months of receipt of the application. [Sourabh Jain] Copy to: Under Secretary (ITA-I) I. PS to FM/OSD to FMlPS to MoS (R)/OSD to MoS(R) 2. PS to Revenue Secretary 3. Chairman, CBDT & All Members, CBDT 4. All Principal Chief Commissioners of Income-tax I Principal Director Generals of I ncome-tax. 5. Pr. Chief Controller of Accounts, New Delhi. 6. All Joint Secretaries/CsIT, CBDT 7. Web Manager, 0 /0 Pr.DGIT(Systems) with request to upload on the departmental website of incometaxindia@gov.in. 8. Commissioner of Income-tax (Media & TP) and official Spokesperson, CBDT, New Delhi. 9. Secretary General, IRS Associationl Secretary General, ITGON All-India Income Tax SC & ST Employees' Welfare Association I Income Tax Employees Federation (ITEF). 10. lCIT, Data-Base Cell for uploading on irsofficersonline.org. [Under Secretary ( T A -I)]

What to watch

The outer limit is three years of delay; beyond that no authority named in this circular can admit the application.
Which rank you file before turns on the length of the delay — up to 365 days is the Commissioner, beyond that the Chief Commissioner or Principal Chief Commissioner.
Condonation is not automatic: reasonable cause for the delay has to be shown and the application is decided on merits.
The three-month disposal is a direction to the officer, not a deemed condonation if the time passes.

Where you meet it

When exemption under sections 11 and 12 has been denied in processing or assessment because the audit report in Form No. 10B was filed after the due date, and the trust moves for condonation to save the exemption.

An example

Ours, not the Board’s: a worked case built from the rule the instrument sets, to show how it falls out.

A trust files its Form No. 10B for assessment year 2018-19 eighteen months after the due date. Because the delay is over 365 days but under three years, the condonation application goes to the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner, who must be satisfied there was reasonable cause before deciding it on merits.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 1, Form No. 108

It mentions. Circular No. 2/2020

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. 15/2022 · Circular No. 17/2022 →

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.