ITAT allowed the appeal of the assessee-trust and set aside...

ITAT allowed the appeal of the assessee-trust and set aside denial of exemption u/s 11 and 12. It held that the requirement of filing Form 10B along with the return is procedural, not mandatory in a manner defeating substantive rights, where the audit report is ultimately furnished. Since Form 10B was filed during pendency of the first appellate proceedings before CIT(A), the trust's compliance with audit requirements stood satisfied. The delayed filing was treated as a curable procedural defect, insufficient to disentitle an otherwise compliant charitable trust from exemption.

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