Relief to 25 Taxpayers: Bombay HC directs State to accept Income Tax Returns without Aadhaar [Read Order]

PAN - Finance - Taxscan

In an interim order, the division bench of the Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to a group of 25 taxpayers who had filed a petition challenging the insistence of the Revenue Department to link their PAN card with their Aadhaar card in order to file tax returns.

The division bench comprising of Justice M.S Sanklecha and Justice Sandeep K. Shinde said that, “The respondents ¬State is directed to accept the return of income for the Assessment Year 2018-19 by the petitioners herein if uploaded on or before 30th June, 2018 without Aadhaar number, Aadhar Enrollment or any linkage with the PAN details. This is without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the state that such Returns of Income are contrary to the provisions of the Act”.

The Court also observed that, “In case the system does not accept the Returns of Income filed by the petitioners in the absence of it quoting the Aadhaar number or Aadhaar Enrollment number or Linking with PAN details, then in that event the petitioners herein are at liberty to file their return of income in physical form with the jurisdictional Assessing Officer on or before 2nd July, 2018, who would accept the same. This has become necessary as we are informed that the Income Tax Office is closed on 30th June, 2018 and 1st July, 2018”.

“The directions made in this order are restricted only to the petitioners before us. This is an interim order, without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties”, it also added.

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