Audit Certificate Timing for Chapter VIA Deductions preserves Section 80IB(10) claim if filed before assessment processing.

Whether an assessee may claim the deduction under Section 80IB(10) when the audit report in Form No.10CCB was filed after the return due date but before assessment processing; the legal principle applied is that for deductions under Chapter VIA the statutory filing requirement is satisfied if the requisite audit certificate is furnished prior to processing/assessment, thereby curing non-filing with the return; outcome-since the Form was uploaded before processing/assessment the deduction was allowed and the appellate order denying the claim was set aside.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessee is entitled to claim deduction under Section 80IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 despite filing the audit report in Form No.10CCB after the due date for electronic filing but before processing/assessment, and whether such filing satisfies the statutory requirement for claiming the deduction.

Analysis: The Tribunal examined whether the statutory requirement to furnish the audit report in Form No.10CCB in relation to a claim under Section 80IB(10) is satisfied by filing the Form after the due date for return but before processing/assessment under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Tribunal considered precedent where coordinate benches and higher courts have distinguished exemption provisions from deduction provisions and have held that, for deductions under Chapter VIA, filing the requisite audit certificate before the final order of assessment/processing can cure non-filing with the return. The Tribunal noted that the Form was uploaded prior to processing of the return and relied on prior Tribunal decisions (including Sahyadri Farmers Producer Company Ltd. and Desai Infra Projects (I) Pvt. Ltd.) which allowed similar deductions where the audit report was available before completion of assessment processing.

Conclusion: The Tribunal concluded that since the audit report in Form No.10CCB was furnished before processing/assessment under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the assessee cannot be denied the deduction under Section 80IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961; the impugned order of the Commissioner (Appeals) is set aside and the claim is allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: For deductions under Chapter VIA (including Section 80IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961), filing the required audit report before the processing/final order of assessment suffices to satisfy the statutory filing requirement and entitles the assessee to the deduction even if the Form was not filed with the return by the due date.

---