Delayed Form No. 10 filing can be condoned where charitable accumulation claim was made before assessment completion

For charitable exemption under section 11(2), filing Form No. 10 after the due date did not defeat the accumulation claim where the form was submitted before completion of assessment and the claim had already been made in the return. The filing timeline was treated as a procedural requirement, while the substantive entitlement turned on the claim being available to the Assessing Officer before assessment was completed. On that basis, the delay was capable of condonation, the accumulation claim was allowed, and the addition was deleted in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to claim accumulation of income under section 11(2) despite filing Form No. 10 after the due date but before completion of the assessment.

Analysis: The claim for accumulation was made in the return and the prescribed form was filed before the assessment was completed. The delay in filing was sought to be condoned, and the record showed that the assessee had pursued such condonation. The decision applies the principle that, in the context of charitable exemptions, the filing timeline for the form is a procedural requirement, while the substantive entitlement depends on the claim being made and available to the Assessing Officer before completion of assessment. The cited authorities were relied upon to treat the delay as condonable where the essential conditions for accumulation were otherwise satisfied.

Conclusion: The delay in filing Form No. 10 was not fatal, the accumulation claim was allowable, and the addition was deleted in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a charitable assessee files Form No. 10 before completion of assessment and the substantive requirements for accumulation under section 11(2) are otherwise met, delayed filing is a procedural defect that can be condoned and cannot by itself defeat the exemption claim.

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