Assessee without section 10(23) registration cannot claim section 10(23C) exemption for non-filing Form 10BB audit report

ITAT Hyderabad held that assessee without registration under section 10(23) cannot claim exemption under section 10(23C) for non-filing audit report in Form 10BB. The tribunal directed assessment as Association of Persons (AOP) allowing deduction of admissible expenses from gross receipts including salary, puja expenditure, and regular expenditure. Matter remanded to Assessing Officer for taxing net income after allowable deductions and to CIT(A) for fresh adjudication of unaddressed grounds with proper opportunity for assessee to present evidence.

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Issues involved:
The judgment involves the delay in filing appeals, denial of exemption claimed u/s 10(23C), interpretation of tax laws regarding the computation of net income, and the remand of the case for fresh adjudication.

Issue 1: Delay in filing appeals
The assessee filed appeals with a delay of 30 days, which was condoned upon submission of a condonation petition and valid reasons for the delay. The delay was not opposed by the learned DR, and thus the appeals were considered.

Issue 2: Denial of exemption u/s 10(23C)
For A.Y. 2019-20, the assessee, a Trust, claimed exemption of administrative expenditure u/s 10(23C) of the Act. However, the exemption was disallowed by the Assessing Officer due to non-filing of the required audit report in Form 10BB before the specified date. The CIT (A) dismissed the appeal based on relevant circulars and legal precedents, leading the assessee to appeal before the Tribunal.

Issue 3: Computation of net income
The Tribunal considered the nature of the assessee as a temple and the requirement for auditing books of account under the Act. It was noted that the assessee was not registered u/s 10(23) of the Act, leading to the rejection of the return of income. The Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to tax only the net income after deducting allowable expenditures, treating the assessee as an Association of Persons (AOP) and remanded the matter for fresh adjudication.

Issue 4: Fresh adjudication by CIT (A)
The Tribunal remanded the grounds raised by the assessee for A.Y. 2019-20 and 2020-21 to the CIT (A) for fresh adjudication, as the issues were similar and required further examination. Both appeals were allowed for statistical purposes, emphasizing the need for a reevaluation of the matters by the CIT (A) in light of the Tribunal's directions.

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