Appeal allowed for 2015-16 exemption denial, dismissed for 2017-18 delay. Covid-19 impact on filing.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal for A.Y. 2015-16, as the denial of exemption u/s. 11 was unjustified. However, the appeal for A.Y. 2017-18 was dismissed due to the failure to file an application for condonation of delay. The delay in filing the appeals was condoned due to a decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court during the Covid-19 lockdown.

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Issues:
1. Delay in filing appeals condoned due to lockdown.
2. Denial of exemption u/s. 11 for non-filing of Form 10 for A.Y. 2015-16.
3. Applicability of Rule 17 for A.Y. 2017-18 regarding Form 10 filing.
4. Failure to file application for condonation of delay in filing Form 10 for A.Y. 2017-18.

Analysis:
1. The judgment deals with two appeals by the assessee against a common order passed by the CIT(A) for A.Y. 2015-16 and A.Y. 2017-18. The delay in filing the appeals was 04 days, which was condoned by the Tribunal due to a decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court during the Covid-19 lockdown.

2. For A.Y. 2015-16, the primary issue was the denial of exemption u/s. 11 for non-filing of Form 10. The assessee, a charitable trust, had filed Form 10 manually with the return of income before the due date, as required by law. The Tribunal found that Rule 17, which was cited by the CIT(A) to deny the exemption, was not applicable to the relevant assessment year. Therefore, the Tribunal set aside the CIT(A)'s order and allowed the appeal of the assessee.

3. Regarding A.Y. 2017-18, the Tribunal considered the applicability of Rule 17, which came into force from 01-04-2016. The assessee had filed Form 10 manually before filing the return of income. However, the Tribunal noted that the assessee failed to file an application for condonation of delay in filing Form 10 online, as required by Circulars issued by the CBDT. Despite citing a decision of the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay granting such an opportunity, the Tribunal held that it could not grant such relief and dismissed the appeal of the assessee.

4. In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the appeal of the assessee for A.Y. 2015-16 as the denial of exemption u/s. 11 was found unjustified. However, for A.Y. 2017-18, the appeal was dismissed due to the failure of the assessee to file an application for condonation of delay. The judgment was pronounced on 27th September 2022.

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