Delay in filing of return due to virus attack on data held to be a valid ground for eligibility u/s 80IC

In the instant case, the assessee had given reasons for delay in filing the return of income that it was preparing its accounts through computer and the computer got corrupted due to viruses and in spite of continuous efforts by the technical personnel to retrieve the data in time for filing the return of income, problem persisted in the system.
The entire data for the two months period, February and March, 2008, had to be re-entered into the computer system again. Thus, there was a delay of 74 days in filing the return of income which was beyond the control of assessee.
It was held that there was a reasonable cause for filing the return of income belatedly and this was beyond the control of the assessee. Hence, deduction under Sec. 80-IC not to be denied by invoking provisions of Section 80AC - ITO v. S. VENKATAIAH [2012] 22 taxmann.com 2 (Hyderabad - ITAT)