TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (11) TMI 1234
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....cation order u/s.154 of the Act dated 02.02.2021. 2. Sole grievance of the assessee is that ld.CIT(A) erred in confirming the Rectification order passed by ld. Assessing Officer u/s.154 of the Act by not allowing exemption u/s.11 of the Act merely that assessee has not filed the Audit Report on Form 10B has not been filed within the stipulated time limit through online mode. 3. At the outset, Ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that the return of income for A.Y. 2015-16 was furnished on 30.09.2015 but Audit Report on Form 10B though procured on 30.09.2015 was filed online on 19.01.2023. Ld. Counsel based on settled judicial precedents including the decision of this Tribunal in the case of Sahaj Seva Trust Vs. ITO - ITA No.541/PUN/2....
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....ders of the Assessing Officer and Ld. CIT(A) / NFAC and the paper book filed by both sides. We have also considered the various decisions cited before us. We find the Assessing Officer in the instant case disallowed the claim of exemption u/s 10(23C) of the Act on the ground that the assessee trust has not filed Form No.10BB before the statutory time limit but has filed the return of income as well as Form No.10BB after the due date of time. Further, the application for condonation of delay filed with the CIT(Exemption) was also rejected by the CIT(Exemption). The Assessing Officer further held that the funds of the trust are not being properly utilized / supervised as required by the provisions of section 10(23C) of the Act. We find the Ld....
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....on'ble Supreme Court in the case of PCIT vs. Wipro Limited (supra), has held that when the assessee has already filed the audit report in Form 10B electronically during the pendency of appellate proceedings along with copy of audited financial statements, delay in filing of the said Form is rightly condoned by the Commissioner of Appeals and the Tribunal. The relevant observations of the Hon'ble High Court read as under: "4. Learned Senior Standing Counsel Ms.Maithili Mehta for the appellant submitted that in case of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-III, Bangalore v. M/s.Wipro Limited of the Hon'ble Supreme Court rendered on 11th July, 2022 in Civil Appeal No.1449 of 2022 it was held that requirement of Section 10B(8) o....
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....ly to him for any of the relevant assessment year. 6. Considering the language of the provision of Section 10B(8) of the Act, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that it was mandatory on part of the assessee to file declaration before the due date of filing of return under Sub-section (1) of Section 139 of the Act, whereas, in the facts of the said case the assessee filed such undertaking along with the revised return under Sub-section (5) of Section 139 of the Act and in such facts, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the twin conditions prescribed under Section 10B(8) of the Act was mandatory to be fulfilled and it cannot be said that though the declaration is mandatory, the filing of such declaration within the due date of fi....
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....e impugned order of the Tribunal. The Appeal is accordingly dismissed." 21. We find the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court in the case of CIT (Exemption) vs. Anjana Foundation (supra) has held that a charitable trust cannot be denied benefit of section 11 solely for not filing audit report in Form No.10B, as it is only a procedural requirement. 22. So far as the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Customs (Imports), Mumbai v. Dilip Kumar & Company & Ors. (supra) is concerned, we are of considered opinion that the said decision is not applicable to the facts of the present case as that case was under the Customs Act and not under the Income Tax Act. Further, the facts in that case were that the ....
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....ourt has held as under: "52. To sum up, we answer the reference holding as under: (1) Exemption notification should be interpreted strictly, the burden of proving applicability would be on the assessee to show that his case comes within the parameters of the exemption clause or exemption notification. (2) When there is ambiguity in exemption notification which is subject to strict interpretation, the benefit of such ambiguity cannot be claimed by the subject/assessee and it must be interpreted in favour of the revenue. (3) The ratio in Sun Export case (supra) is not correct and all the decisions which took similar view as in Sun Export Case (supra) stands overruled." 23. However, as mentioned earlier, the....