In Brief
Dalmia Power Limited and another company sought to file revised income tax returns after the statutory due date, following NCLT approval of their amalgamation schemes. The income tax department initially refused. The Supreme Court held that Section 139(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 does not strictly bar late revised returns when the delay results from obtaining NCLT sanction for business restructuring. Under Section 170(1), successor companies in an NCLT-approved amalgamation must be assessed with due regard to the revised returns and sanctioned schemes. The appeals were allowed and the department directed to accept and assess the revised returns.
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