Section 11 exemption claim cannot be denied solely for delayed Form 10BB filing when the audit report was already on record.

Belated filing of Form 10BB did not justify denial of exemption under section 11 where the return and audit report were filed on the same date within the extended due date and the report was on record when the return was processed under section 143(1). The adjustment rejecting the claim was therefore not warranted, and the exemption claim had to be examined on merits after taking the audit report into account.

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Issues: Whether denial of exemption under section 11 on the ground that Form 10BB was filed belatedly could be sustained when the audit report was filed with the return and was available at the time of processing under section 143(1).

Analysis: The return and the audit report were filed on the same date, which was within the extended due date for the return. The audit report was therefore on record when the return was processed. In these circumstances, and following the coordinate Bench decision in the assessee's own case, the adjustment denying exemption was not justified and the claim under section 11 was required to be examined on merits after taking the audit report into account.

Conclusion: The denial of exemption for delayed filing of Form 10BB could not be sustained, and the assessee was entitled to have its claim under section 11 considered on merits.

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