Foreign tax credit cannot be denied for delayed Form 67 filing where the substantive entitlement otherwise exists.

Foreign tax credit under section 90 could not be denied merely because Form No. 67 was filed after the time prescribed in rule 128(9). The reasoning treated the rule as governing the manner and timing of claiming relief, not as creating a substantive bar that extinguishes the underlying entitlement to credit for tax paid outside India. The decision also recognised that the relevant DTAA provision, being more beneficial, prevails to that extent over the Act. The late filing was therefore viewed as a procedural lapse only, and the assessee remained entitled to foreign tax credit.

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Issues: Whether foreign tax credit under section 90 can be denied merely because Form No. 67 was furnished after the due date prescribed under rule 128(9) of the Income-tax Rules, 1962.

Analysis: The claim for foreign tax credit arose from taxes paid outside India and was otherwise supported by the return and Form No. 67. The reasoning accepted that rule 128(9) regulates the manner and timing of filing Form No. 67, but does not itself create a substantive disentitlement to foreign tax credit for delay. The decision further proceeded on the basis that the relevant DTAA provision is more beneficial and prevails over the Act to that extent, and that the filing of Form No. 67 is a procedural requirement connected with implementation of the relief, not a condition that extinguishes the underlying substantive entitlement.

Conclusion: Foreign tax credit could not be denied solely on account of belated filing of Form No. 67, and the assessee was entitled to the credit.

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