30 Day Delay in Filing Form 10B Due to Accountant’s Family Medical Issue: Delhi HC Directs CIT(E) to Condone Delay

The Delhi High Court directed the CIT(E) to condone a 30-day delay in filing Form 10B due to the accountant's family medical emergency. Justice Yashwant Varma held that genuine administrative difficulties constitute reasonable cause for delay in statutory compliance. The case involved a charitable trust that missed the audit report submission deadline when its CA's child required emergency hospitalization. The court emphasized that technicalities shouldn't override substantive compliance, especially for non-profits serving public welfare. This humanitarian approach balances regulatory requirements with real-world challenges faced by small organizations. The judgment provides relief to trusts and societies encountering bona fide delays in annual filings. However, the court cautioned that such leniency isn't automatic and requires proper documentation of the claimed hardship. Tax professionals advise maintaining medical records and contemporaneous correspondence to substantiate delay condonation requests.