CIT arbitrarily denied Section 12A exemption over eight-day Form-10B delay despite genuine hardship faced

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....The HC set aside the CIT(E) Hyderabad's order denying exemption u/s 12A of the IT Act for an eight-day delay in submitting Form-10B audit report under Rule 17B. The court held that the CIT failed to apply conscientious discretion and arbitrarily refused to condone the delay under Section 119(2)(b) despite genuine hardship faced by the petitioner. Emphasizing that substantial justice prevails over technical considerations, the HC ruled that mere technicality cannot defeat exemption claims. The matter was remitted to the CIT(E) for fresh consideration of the audit report and exemption application, finding the original refusal constituted arbitrary exercise of discretionary power.....