Curable procedural defect in auditor certificate form cannot deny deduction when revised form is filed before assessment completion.

Filing the auditor's certificate in the old Form No. 10CCAC instead of the revised form was treated as a curable procedural defect, because the Board's circular allowed correction during assessment proceedings. Since the revised form was filed before completion of assessment, the defect stood rectified in time and the deduction under section 80HHC could not be denied on that ground. The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether filing the auditor's certificate in the old Form No. 10CCAC instead of the revised form was a curable procedural defect so as not to deny deduction under section 80HHC.

Analysis: The Board's circular clarified that submission of the auditor's report in the old format of Form No. 10CCAC in place of the revised format is a defect that can be corrected during assessment proceedings. The assessee had in fact filed the revised form before completion of the assessment, so the defect stood rectified within time.

Conclusion: The defect was only procedural and curable, and the deduction under section 80HHC could not be denied on that ground. The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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