Delayed Form 67 filing does not by itself defeat foreign tax credit when the claim is otherwise verifiable on merits.

Delay in filing Form No. 67 under Rule 128(9) was treated as procedural rather than fatal to the substantive claim for foreign tax credit under section 90 where the foreign income, tax paid abroad, and supporting documents were disclosed and later furnished during rectification. The Tribunal held that delayed filing alone did not extinguish entitlement to credit, particularly when the claim remained capable of verification on merits. The denial was set aside and the Assessing Officer was directed to examine the foreign tax credit claim after accepting Form No. 67 and the related documents.

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Issues: Whether delay in filing Form No. 67 under Rule 128(9) of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 could justify denial of foreign tax credit claimed under section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The assessee had disclosed the foreign income and the tax paid abroad in the return and subsequently filed Form No. 67 and supporting documents during rectification proceedings. The earlier denial rested only on the delayed filing of Form No. 67. The Tribunal noted that, for the year under consideration, Rule 128(9) required filing Form No. 67 by the due date under section 139(1), but relied on the view that the rule is procedural and directory in nature. It further followed the line of authority holding that delayed filing of the form does not, by itself, extinguish the substantive entitlement to foreign tax credit, especially when the claim is supported by the relevant documents and is capable of verification on merits.

Conclusion: Mere delay in filing Form No. 67 did not disentitle the assessee from foreign tax credit. The denial was set aside and the matter was restored to the Assessing Officer to examine the claim on merits after accepting Form No. 67 and the related documents.

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