The Income Tax Department while answering the RTI Application denied the claim made by Infosys regarding the filing of 1 lakh ITRs on the new portal.
The appellant, CA Pallaav Parashar filed the RTI Application asking for data of total income tax returns filed between 07th June, 2021 to 21st June, 2021 on the new E-filing portal including day-wise details of ITR Filed.
The Department informed that the requested information is not held as such, by the CPIO as registered information nor is the requested information required to be maintained as such by the CPIO, under extant rules or regulations. It may be mentioned here that the CPIO is not obliged to collect, collate and compile such non-available information and provide the same to the applicant. Further, under the RTI Act, the CPIO is authorized to provide only such information as is available and existing and held by the public authority or under the control of the public authority.
The Supreme Court in the case of CBSE Vs Aditya Bandopadhyay has held that where the information sought is not part of the record of the Public Authority and where such information is not required to be maintained under any law or rules or regulations of the Public Authority, the Act does not cast an obligation upon the Public Authority, to collect or collate such non-available information and furnish it to the applicant.
In other words, the Income Tax Department revealed that no such data is being maintained and it is not available.
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