Taxpayer Wins Appeal After Mistaken Form Switches Him to Old Regime
Shah successfully appealed a demand of Rs 1.23 lakh after a tax consultant’s error caused his return to be processed under the old tax regime.
Shah’s original return reflected his intention to stay in the new tax regime, yet his consultant filed Form 10-IEA during routine compliance, unintentionally opting him out. On January 29 2026 the Centralised Processing Centre in Bengaluru processed the return under the old regime, creating an extra tax demand of Rs 1.23 lakh. After the Commissioner of Appeals dismissed his arguments, Shah, represented by Varun S, appealed to the Bangalore ITAT.
On August 17 2026 the tribunal held that the subsequent return, filed under Section 115BAC(1A), demonstrated Shah’s genuine election of the new regime and that the earlier form was a procedural mistake. It set aside the CIT(A) order, directed the AO/CPC to recompute tax under the new regime, and delete the demand. The decision also noted that digital verification of Form 10-IEA does not alone prove a taxpayer’s final choice.
