Section 279(2)

Section 279(2) — the law in short

What the courts have decided on section 279(2), in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.

• Vinubhai Mohanlal Dobaria v CCIT Supreme CourtHelps taxpayer
  I filed my return late. When is the 276CC offence committed, and is it still a first offence?
  The offence is committed on the day immediately following the s.139(1) due date, not on the day you eventually file. Both defaults here therefore preceded the first show-cause notice, both qualified as a 'first offence' under the 2014 compounding guidelines, and compounding could not be refused on that ground.
• SKS MC Joint Venture v State of Jharkhand High CourtHelps taxpayerHigh Courts differ
  I deposited the TDS late but with interest, and years later the department filed a criminal complaint under s.276B. Can I get it quashed?
  On these facts, yes. Where the deductor had deposited the tax with the stipulated interest before any complaint was filed, and the department then launched the prosecution long afterwards instead of exercising its power to compound, the Jharkhand High Court held that continuing the criminal proceeding was an abuse of the process of law and quashed the cognizance order.
• L. T. Stock Brokers Pvt. Ltd. v Chief Commissioner of Income Tax High CourtHelps taxpayerNo later treatment found
  My compounding application was thrown out in one line because it was filed more than 36 months after the complaint. Is that the end of it?
  No. The Bombay High Court set the rejection aside because the Chief Commissioner treated the CBDT compounding guidelines as a binding statute and exercised no discretion at all. The Income-tax Act prescribes no limitation for a compounding application, so a rigid time-bar cannot be introduced through guidelines, and the competent authority must consider the facts and circumstances before refusing.
• Binod Pattanayak v Union of India High CourtCuts both waysNo later treatment found
  My s.276B prosecution for late deposit of TDS is pending and the CBDT has issued fresh compounding guidelines dated 17 October 2024. Will the High Court still quash the complaint under s.482 CrPC?
  On this order, not as a matter of course. The Orissa High Court, having read clauses 4.6 and 8.3 of the CBDT's guidelines of 17 October 2024, took the view that the Department has now harmonised the procedure for compounding offences under the Act arising out of curable defects, and that in the present regime, where compounding of the offence is permissible, the inherent jurisdiction under s.482 CrPC need not necessarily be invoked. The petition was disposed of with liberty to seek compounding, and with a direction that the application be considered on its merits uninfluenced by the Court's observations.
• CBDT Compounding Guidelines 2024 CBDT Circulars & InstructionsHelps taxpayer
  I want to compound my income tax offence. What do the current guidelines let me do?
  Considerably more than the old ones. The guidelines of 17 October 2024 abolish the Category A/B classification, remove the cap on the number of applications and the 36-month outer time limit, extend compounding to ss.275A and 276B, allow a co-accused to apply for a company or HUF, and set TDS compounding charges at a single 1.5% per month with no interest on delayed payment of the charge.

Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.