Charitable trust tax exemption u/s11 amid late e-uploading of audit report Form 10B; remanded for fresh decision

The dominant issue was whether exemption under s. 11 could be denied solely because the audit report in Form 10B, though obtained before filing the return, was uploaded belatedly due to reliance on the chartered accountant and portal-related compliance steps. The Tribunal held that delayed e-uploading of Form 10B, in these circumstances, constituted a procedural and curable defect causing hardship beyond the assessee's control, relying on co-ordinate Bench precedent treating such lapses as non-substantive. Consequently, the matter was remanded to the AO to decide afresh after considering Form 10B and granting adequate opportunity of hearing, and the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.

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Issues Involved:
The judgment involves issues related to condonation of delay in filing audit report, denial of benefit u/s 11, computation of delay u/s 139, treatment of corpus donation, and rectification petition u/s 154.

Issue 1: Condonation of Delay in Filing Audit Report
The appellant appealed against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) /CIT(A) passed u/s 154 and 250 of the Act. The appellant contended that the delay in uploading the audit report was due to genuine reasons beyond their control. The audit report was signed by the Chartered Accountant before the filing of the return of income. The appellant relied on judicial decisions and CBDT Circular to support their claim for condonation of delay. The Tribunal observed that delay in uploading the audit report was a procedural defect and curable. Citing a similar case, the Tribunal set aside the order and restored the issue to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication.

Issue 2: Denial of Benefit u/s 11
The appellant's claim for benefit u/s 11 was denied as the Form No.10B was not uploaded along with the return of income. The appellant argued that the audit report was available at the time of filing the return, and the delay in uploading was unintentional. The Tribunal, considering the genuine reasons for the delay and judicial precedents, held that non-filing of the audit report was a procedural defect and not a ground for denying the benefit u/s 11. The Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to reevaluate the issue after considering the audit report.

Issue 3: Computation of Delay u/s 139
The appellant contested the denial of condonation of delay by CIT(exemption) u/s 119(2) based on the computation of delay. The appellant argued that the delay should be computed u/s 139 as per CBDT circular, making the delay fall within the condonable period. The Tribunal noted the appellant's reliance on the CBDT circular and directed the Assessing Officer to reconsider the issue in light of the circular.

Issue 4: Treatment of Corpus Donation
The appellant raised a ground regarding the treatment of corpus donation as the only income of the trust claimed exempt under section 11. The appellant argued that even if the benefit of section 11 was not granted, the corpus donation should not be disallowed under section 143(1). The Tribunal considered the arguments and directed the Assessing Officer to review the treatment of corpus donation in accordance with relevant judicial decisions.

Separate Judgement by Judges:
The judgment was delivered by the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Jabalpur, with Shri Om Prakash Kant as the Accountant Member and Shri Pavan Kumar Gadale as the Judicial Member. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, and the case was remanded to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication.

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