TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (12) TMI 1186
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). 4. The brief facts relevant for adjudication of the present writ petition are that the petitioner which is a establishment having got registered itself under Section 12A of the Act, submitted its income tax returns on 31.10.2017. However, as there were certain defects, the same was returned and revised income tax returns were furnished on 02.11.2017. While submitting the returns, nil income was declared claiming exemption under Section 12A of the Act. Thereafter, the respondent No. 1 initiated proceedings under Section 147 of the Act and a notice under Section 148 of the Act is said to have been issued on 19.09.2019 and further notice under Section 142(1) of the Act was also issued calling upon the petitioner to submit certain additional details. Finally an order was passed under Section 147 read with Section 114 and Section 144B of the Act on 24.09.2021. 5. The respondent No. 1 while passing the said order held that the petitioner has failed to prove the source of cash deposited by him in their respective banks amounting to Rs. 87,13,060/- and the entire amount was being treated as unexplained money and was added under....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e assessment order was passed on 24.09.2021. In the given circumstances taking into consideration the provisions of Section 119(2)(b) of the Act, the authority concerned ought to have taken a liberal approach and should have condoned the delay caused in filing of the audit report. 9. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, the impugned order passed by the respondent No. 3 is totally arbitrary, without proper application of mind and being passed in a mechanical manner. It was specifically contended that the authority concerned has not dealt with it in any manner or discussed upon any of the grounds raised in the application under Section 119(2)(b) of the Act. For the said reason, the prayer of the petitioner was for issuance of an appropriate Writ in the nature of Mandamus declaring the impugned order dated 31.07.2023 rejecting the application under Section 119(2)(b) of the Act to be arbitrary, bad in law and for an appropriate direction to hold that the consequential decisions taken also to be bad in law. In support of his contentions, learned counsel for the petitioner relied upon the decisions in the case of MADHU DADHA vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (2009....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....y if he wanted to upload or made available the audit report and having not done so goes to establish the fact that the petitioner has deliberately not shown any keen interest on the proceedings so drawn. Thus, he would not be entitled for any sympathetic treatment or anything as such. For the aforesaid reason, the learned counsel for the respondent-Department prayed for rejection of the writ petition holding it to be devoid of merits. 13. Learned counsel for the respondent-Department in support of his contentions had relied upon the decisions in the cases of ASSISANT COMMISSIONER (CT) LTU, KAKINADA Versus GLAXO SMITH KLINE CONSUMER HEALTH CARE (2020) 19 Supreme Court Cases 681 and yet another decision of the Division Bench of this Court in M/s. Zoos and Parks Authority of Telangana vs. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) WP 8794 of 2023 dated 04.04.2023 of High Court for the State of Telangana to be adopted in an appropriate case. 14. Having heard the contentions put forth on either side and on perusal or records, for proper adjudicating the dispute raised in the present writ petition, it would be relevant at this juncture to take note of the contents of the impugned orde....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... is a registered establishment under Section 12A of the Act. Section 12A of the Act provides tax exemption to charitable trust that is registered with the Income Tax Department. So far as registration is concerned, there no quarrel on the same. The dispute in the present case is only in respect of the assessment order for the Assessment Year 2017-18. 16. The admitted factual matrix from the facts of the case is that the return of income was filed by the petitioner for the Assessment Year 2017-18 on 02.11.2017. Before filing of the said return itself, the accounts of the petitioner were got audited and the audit report was prepared well in time on 20.09.2017. The due date for filing of the return was on or before 31.10.2017 and the petitioner herein did file his return on 31.10.2017. However, on account of certain defects detected, the same was returned and revised return was filed on 02.11.2017. Thus, the return stands submitted within the time. However, there was a requirement for uploading of the audit report. The audit report meanwhile was uploaded though at a belated stage on 21.02.2019, nonetheless the uploading of the audit report was much before (before 2.5 years) the asses....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the benefit of exemption should not be denied merely on account of delay in furnishing the same and it is permissible for the assessee to produce the audit report at a later stage either before the Income-tax Officer or before the appellate authority by assigning sufficient cause." 19. The High Court of Gujarat further in the case of COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX v. GUJARAT OIL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES [1993] 201 ITR 325 (Guj) held as under: "In our view, the aforesaid reasoning of the Allahabad High Court and the Patna High Court would squarely apply to the facts of the present case. The provision about furnishing of the auditors' report along with the return has to be treated as a procedural provision, directory in nature, and its substantial compliance should suffice, meaning thereby that such report should be made available by the assessee to the Assessing Officer latest when the question of framing of assessment is taken up by the Income-tax Officer and when he applies his mind to the claim of the assessee and if by that time, the assessee has put his house in order and has furnished the report of the auditor for supporting the return, he can be said to have satisfied the requir....