Appeal Dismissed: Tribunal Affirms Denial of Tax Exemption Due to Late Filing by Trust Under Income Tax Act.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, affirming the denial of exemption under section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, due to the appellant trust's failure to file its return of income within the prescribed due date as required by section 139(1). The Tribunal emphasized the lack of discretionary power to condone the delay, rendering the exemption claim inadmissible.

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Issues:
The appeal involves the denial of exemption under section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 due to the late filing of the return of income by the appellant trust.

Summary:
The appellant, a Trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1951, and under section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, filed its Return of Income for the assessment year 2019-20 after the due date. An intimation u/s 143(1) was issued denying the exemption u/s 11 as the return was not filed within the prescribed due date. The appellant appealed to the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), which upheld the denial. The appellant then appealed to the Appellate Tribunal.

At the Tribunal, despite due notice, no one appeared on behalf of the appellant. The Senior DR argued that to claim exemption u/s 11, the return must be filed as per section 139(4A) of the Act, which was not done in this case. The Tribunal noted that the CPC denied the exemption solely based on the late filing of the return, as required by section 12A(ba) of the Act. The provisions did not allow for discretion to condone the delay in filing. As per section 12A(ba), exemption u/s 11 can only be claimed if the return is filed within the due date prescribed u/s 139(1) of the Act. Since there was no discretionary power to relax the statutory provisions, the Tribunal found the claim for exemption to be inadmissible. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the denial of exemption u/s 11.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the decision to deny the exemption under section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, due to the untimely filing of the return of income by the appellant trust.

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