Circular No. 7/2023

Condonation of delay in filing refund claim and claim of carry forward of losses under section 119 2 b of the income tax act 1961

What this is

Circular No. 7/2023 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 31 May 2023. Its subject is Condonation of delay in filing refund claim and claim of carry forward of losses under section 119 2 b of the income tax act 1961.

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

Revises only the monetary limits in paragraph 2 of Circular No. 9 of 2015, which governs applications under section 119(2)(b) to condone delay in filing a return claiming a refund or claiming carry forward and set off of loss. Principal Commissioners and Commissioners may now decide claims not exceeding Rs.50 lakhs for any one assessment year; Chief Commissioners take claims above Rs.50 lakhs and up to Rs.2 crores; Principal Chief Commissioners take claims above Rs.2 crores and up to Rs.3 crores; and anything above Rs.3 crores goes to the Board. The revised limits apply to applications and claims filed on and after 1 June 2023, and every other guideline in the 2015 circular stands unchanged.

Why it was issued

The circular records only that the earlier monetary limits were modified on consideration; no further reason is given.

Who it reaches

Assessees applying to condone delay in a return claiming a refund
Assessees applying to condone delay in a return claiming carry forward of loss
Principal Commissioners, Chief Commissioners and Principal Chief Commissioners deciding such applications
Advisers deciding which authority an application should be addressed to

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. 312/63/2023-0T Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes Circular No. 07/2023 New Delhi, dated 31st May, 2023 Subject: Condonation of delay in filing refund claim and claim of carry forward of losses under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Circular No. 09 of 2015 (the Circular) dated 09-06-2015 in F. No. 312/22/2015-0T by Central Board of Direct Taxes (the Board) was issued in supersession of all earlier Instructions/Circulars/Guidelines. The Circular prescribed comprehensive guidelines on the conditions and procedure to be followed for deciding applications for condonation of delay in filing Returns of Income (RsOI) claiming refund and RsOI claiming carry forward of loss and setoff thereof under section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

2. On consideration, the monetary limits specified in Para No. 2 of the Circular are modified as under:

(i) The Principal Commissioners of Income-tax/Commissioners of Income-tax (Pr. CsIT/CsIT) shall be vested with the powers of acceptance/rejection of such applications/claims if the amount of such claims is not more than Rs.50 lakhs for anyone assessment year.

(ii) The Chief Commissioners of Income-tax (CCsIT) shall be vested with the powers of acceptance/rejection of such applications/claims if the amount of such claims exceeds Rs.50 lakhs but is not more than Rs.2 crores for any one assessment year.

(iii) The Principal Chief Commissioners of Income-tax (Pr. CCsIT) shall be vested with the powers of acceptance/rejection of such applications/claims if the amount of such claims exceeds Rs.2 crores but is not more than Rs.3 crores for anyone assessment year.

(iv) The applications/claims for amounts exceeding Rs.3 crores shall be considered by the Board.

3. The above revised monetary limits for applications/claims in respect of the competent authorities specified hereinabove shall be applicable to the applications/claims filed on and after 01-06-2023.

4. The other guidelines prescribed in Circular No. 09 of 2015 dated 09-06-2015 shall remain unchanged.

Copy to:

1. Chairperson and Members, CBDT
2. All Pro CCsIT/CCsIT/Pr. DGsIT/DGsIT for circulation in their region.
3. All Jt. Secretaries/CsIT/Directors/Dy. Secretaries/Under Secretaries, CBDT
4. C & AG of India
5. ADG (PR & PP) for printing in the quarterly tax bulletin and for circulation as per usual mailing list
6. Web Manager, with a request to place the Circular on official Income-tax website
7. JDIT, Data Base Cell for placing it on the website irsofficersonline.gov.in
8. The Guard File

What to watch

Only the forum changes - the substantive conditions for condonation stay in Circular No. 9 of 2015 and must be read from there.
The revised limits bite by reference to the filing date of the application, 1 June 2023, not the assessment year the claim relates to.
The amount of the claim for a single assessment year fixes the forum, so splitting or aggregating years changes who decides.
A claim above Rs.3 crores has to go to the Board itself, which is a materially slower route.

Where you meet it

When settling where a section 119(2)(b) condonation petition for a refund or a carried forward loss should be filed, or when an application is returned for want of jurisdiction.

What it names

It mentions. Circular No. 07/2023, Circular No. 09/2015

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. 8/2023 · Circular No. 6/2023 →

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.