2025 (11) TMI 646

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....961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), for the Assessment Year (AY) 2017-18. 2. The assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal: "1. The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in disallowing exemption of Rs. 81,83,475/-claimed u/s. 11 of the Act. 2. The Ld. CIT(A) has failed to appreciate that the delay in filing of audit report (Form No. 10B) being a procedural requirement is directory in nature and cannot led to denial of exemption to the appellant. 3. The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in holding that an application u/s. 119(2) of the Act is the only remedy and no relief can be granted via appellate authority. 4. The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in confirming....

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....e "specified date" as defined under section 44AB, i.e., one month prior to the due date for filing the return under section 139(1) of the Act. Since the appellant failed to furnish Form 10B within the prescribed time, the CPC was justified in denying exemption under sections 11 and 12. The CIT(Appeals) also referred to CBDT Circular No. 16/2022 dated 19.07.2022, which authorizes condonation of delay in filing Form 10B up to three years by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner of Income-tax under section 119(2)(b) of the Act, and observed that the assessee had not sought such condonation from the competent authority. The CIT(Appeals) held that neither CPC nor the Assessing Officer nor the CIT(Appeals) had jurisdiction to con....

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....ribunal, Nagpur Bench, in the case of Shri Panchmurti Education Society vs. Income-tax Officer [2025] 171 taxmann.com 546 (Nagpur - Trib.) [21-01-2025], has categorically held that where a return of income is filed within the extended time limit permissible under section 139(4) of the Act, such a return is to be treated as a valid return under section 139 and the benefit of section 11 cannot be denied merely on the ground that Form 10B was not filed along with the original return. The Tribunal in the said decision further observed that the amendment to section 12A(1)(ba) is effective only from assessment year 2018- 19 and that, as clarified by CBDT Instruction dated 23.04.2019, the expression "time allowed under section 139" includes a bela....

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.... assessee trust had filed a valid belated return under section 139(4) along with the audit report in Form 10B, the benefit of exemption under section 11 could not be denied merely because both were filed after the due date prescribed under section 139(1). The Tribunal categorically held that once the return is filed under section 139(4), it is a valid return in law, and the assessee is entitled to claim exemption accordingly. 6. In the present case, the assessee trust had duly filed its return of income within the extended statutory limit permissible under section 139(4) of the Act and had subsequently filed its audit report in Form 10B. The filing of the audit report, though belated, in our view, constitutes substantial compliance with ....