Gujarat High Court Pulls Up CBDT for 11-Year Non-Compliance on ITR Form Release Deadlines

Case Overview: Chartered Accountants Association Vs Union of India (Gujarat High Court)

The Gujarat High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the Central Board of Direct Taxes' persistent failure to release Income Tax Return forms and e-filing utilities by April 1st of the relevant assessment year — a direction that has remained unimplemented for over a decade despite a clear judicial mandate.

Background of the Petition

The Chartered Accountants Association approached the Gujarat High Court by way of a writ petition, bringing to the Court's attention a matter of significant concern for the tax compliance community. The petitioner-Association highlighted that despite an explicit direction issued by the very same Court through its judgment and order dated 29.09.2015 in Special Civil Application No. 15075 of 2015, the respondent-Department has continued to disregard the mandate.

The 2015 order had clearly directed that:

"Henceforth, the forms and utilities for e-filing of income tax returns are ordinarily made available on the 1st day of April of the relevant assessment year."

Despite the unambiguous nature of this direction, eleven years have elapsed without meaningful compliance from the Income Tax Department. The petitioner-Association brought this prolonged non-adherence squarely before the Court, seeking effective enforcement of judicial directions that appear to have been treated as optional by the respondent authorities.

Key Issues Raised Before the Court

The writ petition placed before the Gujarat High Court a cluster of interconnected concerns that go well beyond a single missed deadline. These include:

  • Repeated non-compliance with the Court's order dated 29.09.2015 requiring availability of ITR forms and e-filing utilities from April 1st of the relevant assessment year
  • Multiple other Court orders passed by the Gujarat High Court that have similarly gone unimplemented by the respondent-Department
  • Serious operational deficiencies in the functioning of the Income Tax Department
  • Lack of adequate technical oversight and monitoring of the e-filing portal
  • Hardships caused to assessees and professionals due to delayed availability of forms and utilities, leading to compressed compliance timelines