Foreign tax credit cannot be denied solely for late Form 67 filing where treaty relief remains substantively available.

Foreign tax credit under the treaty framework could not be denied merely because Form No. 67 was filed after the return due date. The ITAT held that Rule 128(9) prescribes the manner and time for furnishing the form, but does not state that delayed filing extinguishes the substantive credit. Filing Form No. 67 was treated as a procedural requirement, not a mandatory condition overriding treaty-based relief under section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Since the assessee had offered the foreign income to tax in India and claimed the credit on merits, the delay alone did not justify rejection of the claim.

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Issues: Whether foreign tax credit under the treaty framework could be denied solely because Form No. 67 was filed after the due date prescribed for filing the return of income.

Analysis: The assessee had offered foreign income to tax in India and claimed foreign tax credit, but Form No. 67 was filed belatedly. The Tribunal held that Rule 128(9) of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 prescribes the manner and time for furnishing Form No. 67, but does not provide that delayed filing results in forfeiture of the credit. It accepted the view that filing of Form No. 67 is a procedural requirement and not a mandatory condition that extinguishes the substantive entitlement to foreign tax credit. The Tribunal further held that the treaty entitlement to relief under section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 cannot be curtailed by a procedural rule, and that the delay did not justify denial of the claim on merits.

Conclusion: Foreign tax credit could not be denied merely because Form No. 67 was filed after the due date, and the assessee was held entitled to the credit.

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