2025 (9) TMI 912

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..... Bissa appears for respondent. 3. Petitioner is a public charitable trust registered under Rajasthan Public Charitable Trusts Act, 1959. Petitioner-trust was being maintained by one Anandi Lal Mehta, who was the then President of Trust. The said Anandi Lal Mehta suffered a severe brain stroke and was consequently hospitalized for an extended period of time. Due to his medical condition, accounts of petitioner for Assessment Year 2018-2019 got audited on 23rd February 2019 after a delay of 115 days and the auditor of petitioner uploaded Form 10B on income tax e-portal only on 20th September 2020 with a delay of 700 days after the due date. The said Anandi Lal Mehta unfortunately also died later on 27th November 2022. In his absence, the ....

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....d have been allowed. Courts have repeatedly held that such approach in the cases of present type should be equitious, balancing and judicious. Even though technically and strictly and liberally speaking, respondent might be justified in rejecting application but the assessee, a public charitable trust, with so many years of charitable activities, which otherwise satisfies the condition for availing such exemption should not be denied the same merely due on the bar of limitation especially when the legislature has conferred wide discretionary powers to condone such delay on the authorities concerned. 9. We find support for this view of ours in the judgment of Bombay High Court in Al Jamia Mohammediyah Education Society vs. Commissioner of....

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....e case of G.V. Infosutions (P) Ltd. v. Dy: CIT [2019] 102 taxmann.com 397/261 Taxman 482. We may quote the relevant observations thus: "8. The rejection of the petitioner's application under section 119(2)(b) is only on the ground that according to the Chief Commissioner's opinion the plea of omission by the auditor was not substantiated. This court has difficulty to understand what more plea or proof any assessee could have brought on record, to substantiate the inadvertence of its advisor. The net result of the impugned order is in effect that the petitioner's claim of inadvertent mistake is sought to be characterised as not bona fide. The court is of the opinion that an assessee has to take leave of its senses if it ....