February 15, 2026 : The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has directed the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax to condone the delay in filing Form 10IC and grant the benefit of the concessional corporate tax regime under Section 115BAA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to MBD Printographics Private Ltd.

The order was passed in ITA No.1660/Del/2025 for Assessment Year 2023–24 in the case of MBD Printographics Private Ltd. vs. DCIT. The Bench comprised Ms. Madhumita Roy (Judicial Member) and Shri Naveen Chandra (Accountant Member).

Background of the Case

The assessee had opted for the concessional tax regime under Section 115BAA, which allows domestic companies to be taxed at a lower rate subject to prescribed conditions. However, while processing the return under Section 143(1), the Centralised Processing Centre denied the benefit on the ground that Form 10IC, the mandatory form for exercising the option under Section 115BAA, was not filed within the prescribed time.

The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) upheld the denial, holding that filing of Form 10IC was mandatory and that the assessee had failed to comply with the statutory requirement.

Assessee’s Contentions Before the Tribunal

Before the Tribunal, the assessee argued that the non-filing of Form 10IC was a procedural lapse due to inadvertence on the part of its counsel. It was submitted that a litigant should not be penalised for a bona fide mistake committed by the authorised representative. Reliance was placed on several judicial precedents, including:

• Collector, Land Acquisition vs. Mst. Katiji & Ors. (Supreme Court)
• Decisions of various High Courts and ITAT Benches recognising that procedural lapses should not defeat substantive rights.

The assessee further brought to the Tribunal’s notice CBDT Circular No. 17 of 2024 dated 18 November 2024, which permits taxpayers for AY 2023–24 to apply to the jurisdictional PCIT for condonation of delay in filing Form 10IC. It was submitted that pursuant to the circular, an application had already been filed before the PCIT, Delhi-4 on 27 December 2024 and was pending consideration at the time of hearing.

Reliance was also placed on the Gujarat High Court decision in V.M. Procon Pvt. Ltd. vs. ADIT (2024), where the High Court quashed an order rejecting condonation under Section 119(2)(b) and directed acceptance of belated Form 10IC.

Tribunal’s Findings

After considering the submissions and the legal position, the Tribunal observed that the only reason for denial of the benefit was the non-filing of Form 10IC within time. Taking note of the Gujarat High Court judgment and the CBDT circular, the Bench directed the PCIT to condone the delay in filing Form 10IC and allow the assessee the benefit of the concessional regime as claimed. The appeal was accordingly allowed for statistical purposes.

Cause Title: MBD Printographics Private Ltd. vs. DCIT
Case No.: ITA No.1660/Del/2025
Assessment Year: 2023–24
Coram: Madhumita Roy (Judicial Member) and Naveen Chandra (Accountant Member)