Foreign Tax Credit cannot be denied solely for delayed Form 67 filing; the requirement is procedural, not substantive.

Foreign Tax Credit could not be denied merely because Form 67 was filed after the due date under section 139(1). The Tribunal treated the filing requirement as procedural and directory, not as a condition that extinguishes the substantive entitlement to credit under the Act and the DTAA. Where the underlying claim to Foreign Tax Credit otherwise existed, delayed filing of Form 67 by itself was insufficient to justify rejection. The credit was therefore required to be allowed notwithstanding the delay.

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Issues: Whether Foreign Tax Credit could be denied merely because Form 67 was filed after the due date and whether the assessee was entitled to the credit notwithstanding the delay.

Analysis: The claim for Foreign Tax Credit was rejected only on the ground that Form 67 was not filed along with the return within the time prescribed under section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The order followed earlier coordinate bench decisions holding that filing Form 67 is a procedural requirement and not a condition that extinguishes the substantive entitlement to Foreign Tax Credit. The Tribunal followed the settled view that the delay in filing Form 67 does not by itself justify denial of the credit where the underlying entitlement otherwise exists.

Conclusion: The denial of Foreign Tax Credit solely for delayed filing of Form 67 was not justified, and the assessee was entitled to have the credit allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: A delayed filing of Form 67 is a directory procedural default and cannot, by itself, defeat a substantive claim for Foreign Tax Credit otherwise available under the Act and the DTAA.

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