Section 12 of ITA, 2000 : Section 12: Acknowledgment Of Receipt

Explanation using Example

Let's consider a hypothetical scenario where John sends an electronic record (an email) to his colleague, Mary, about a project update. In this case, John is the originator and Mary is the addressee.

According to Section 12(1), if John doesn't specify how he wants to receive an acknowledgment, Mary can acknowledge the receipt of John's email (electronic record) by either replying to John's email (communication by the addressee) or by starting to work on the project update mentioned in the email (conduct of the addressee).

Per Section 12(2), if John had mentioned in his email that his email would be considered as sent only when he receives an acknowledgment from Mary, and if Mary doesn't acknowledge, then legally it would be considered that John never sent the email.

As per Section 12(3), if John didn't specify anything about acknowledgment in his email and doesn't receive any acknowledgment from Mary within a reasonable time, John can send another email to Mary stating that he hasn't received any acknowledgment and specify a reasonable time within which he should receive the acknowledgment. If Mary still doesn't acknowledge within the specified time, John can legally treat the email as though it has never been sent.