ITAT allowed the appeal of a religious institution managed by...

ITAT allowed the appeal of a religious institution managed by Telangana Endowment Department challenging denial of exemption under Section 11. The Assessing Officer denied exemption for failure to file audit report in Form 10BB by the due date of 31/10/2023, though the appellant filed it on 28/11/2023 with a 28-day delay. The Tribunal held that despite the delay, since the audit report was available before the AO passed the assessment order under Section 143(1) on 19/11/2024, exemption should not be denied. Following precedent, the Tribunal ruled that Form 10BB filing requirements are directory rather than mandatory when the audit report is available during assessment proceedings and legal requirements are substantially complied with.