Circular No. 19/2023

Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No. 10-IC for Assessment Year 2021-22

What this is

Circular No. 19/2023 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 23 October 2023. Its subject is Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No. 10-IC for Assessment Year 2021-22.

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

Condones the delay in filing Form No. 10-IC under rule 21AE for the previous year relevant to assessment year 2021-22, so that a domestic company's option under section 115BAA is not lost. Three conditions must all be satisfied: the return for that year was filed on or before the due date under section 139(1); the company opted for taxation under section 115BAA in item (e) of 'Filing Status' in Part A-GEN of Form ITR-6; and Form No. 10-IC is filed electronically on or before 31 January 2024, or within three months from the end of the month in which the circular is issued, whichever is later. It follows Circular No. 6/2022 dated 17 March 2022, which had done the same for assessment year 2020-21.

Why it was issued

Representations said that Form No. 10-IC could not be filed for assessment year 2021-22 within the due date or the extended due date, and the Board acted to avoid genuine hardship to domestic companies exercising the section 115BAA option.

Who it reaches

Domestic companies that opted for section 115BAA in the return for assessment year 2021-22 but did not file Form No. 10-IC
Companies whose section 115BAA rate was denied in processing for want of the form
Advisers to companies on the concessional rate regime

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
s.139	s.2, s.263, s.349

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.173/32/2022-ITA-l Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes Circular No. 1-12023 New Delhi the 23rd October, 2023 Sub: Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in filing of Form No. 10-IC for Assessment Year 2021-22 - Reg. In exercise of the powers conferred under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ('the Act'), the Central Board of Direct Taxes ('CBDT') by Circular No. 612022 of even number dated 17.03.2022 condoned the delay in filing of Form No. 10-IC as per Rule 21AE of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 ('the Rules') for the previous year relevant to A.Y. 2020-21 in cases where the conditions stipulated in the said Circular are satisfied. 2. Representations have been received by CBDT stating that Form No. 10-IC could not be filed for A.Y. 2021-22 within the due date or extended due date, as the case may be. It has been requested that the delay in filing of Form No. 10-IC for A.Y. 2021-22 may be condoned. 3. On consideration of the matter, with a view to avoid genuine hardship to the domestic companies in exercising the option u/s 115BAA of the Act, CBDT in exercise of the powers conferred under section 119(2)(b) of the Act, hereby directs that: - The delay in filing of Form No. 10-IC as per Rule 21AE of the Rules for previous year relevant to A.Y. 2021-22 is condoned in cases where the following conditions are satisfied: i) The return of income for relevant assessment year has been filed on or before the due date specified under section 139(1) ofthe Act; ii) The assessee company has opted for taxation uls 115BAA of the Act in item (e) of "Filing Status" in "Part A-GEN" of the Form of Return ofIncome ITR-6; and iii) Fonn No. 10-IC is filed electronically on or before 31.01.2024 or 3 months from the end of the month in which this Circular is issued, whichever is later. Director (ITA-I) Copy to: 1. PS to FMlOSD to FMlPS to MoS (R)/OSD to MoS(R) 2. PS to Revenue Secretary 3. Chainnan, CBDT & All Members, CBDT 4. All Principal Chief Commissioners of Income-tax I Principal Director Generals of Income-tax. 5. DGIT(Systems), New Delhi 6. Pro Chief Controller of Accounts, New Delhi. 7. All Joint Secretaries/CsIT, CBDT 8. Web Manager, DIO DGIT(Systems) with request to upload on the departme.ntal website of incometaxindia.gov. in. 9. Commissioner of Income-tax (Media & TP) and official Spokesperson, CBDT, New Delhi. 10. Secretary General, IRS Association! Secretary General, ITGOAI All-India Income Tax SC & ST Employees' Welfare Association I Income Tax Employees Federation (ITEF). 11. JCIT, Data-Base Cell for uploading on irsofficersonline.gov.in. Director (ITA-I)

What to watch

All three conditions must hold together — in particular, a company that filed a belated return for that year gets nothing, because the first condition requires filing within the section 139(1) date.
The option must actually appear in item (e) of the Filing Status in Part A-GEN of the return; a claim made only in the computation will not do.
The outer date, being the later of 31 January 2024 and three months from the end of the month of issue, has passed.
This circular covers assessment year 2021-22; assessment year 2020-21 is governed by Circular No. 6/2022.

Where you meet it

On an intimation under section 143(1) for assessment year 2021-22 charging tax at the ordinary rate instead of the section 115BAA rate because Form No. 10-IC was not on record.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 10

Rules it names. Rule 21AE of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The 1962 Rules were replaced by the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which renumbered nearly everything: a rule number quoted here almost never means the same rule today.

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. 20/2023 · Circular No. 18/2023 →

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.