TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (9) TMI 1797
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....arch 2023 filed for condonation of delay of 29 days. By the impugned order, Respondent No.1 has refused to condone the delay in filing Form No. 10B for A.Y. 2022-23. Consequently, the exemption claimed by the Petitioner under Section 11 of the Act has been denied to the Petitioner which is a Charitable Trust. 2. The Petitioner is a Charitable Trust established for charitable and religious purposes. The supervision, control and administration are provided for in the church law. The Church is established and administered by the Archdioces of Bombay. Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, the Petitioner, aims to provide basic necessities such as food, educational and medical help to the poor and marginalised parishioners. The Trust al....
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.... for A.Y. 2022-23 was processed under Section 143(1) of the Act on 8th March 2023, disallowing the exemption claimed by the Petitioner under Section 11 of the Act. This was on the basis that Form No.10B was not filed within the prescribed time-frame. 4. Accordingly, the Petitioner filed an application on 16th March 2023 before Respondent No.1 seeking condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10B. It was submitted that the Petitioner could not file the said Form No. 10B in due time because the accounts of the Petitioner were handled by a lady accountant who unfortunately suffered a miscarriage in the month of August 2022 and was advised to take bed rest for two months and due to which she was unable to attend the office at the relevant time....
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....iled in support thereof is also not doubted by Respondent No.1. The delay was caused on account of serious health issues of the accountant (as stated above), and who was responsible for maintaining the financial records and co-ordinating the preparation for filing the audit report. This failure was beyond the Petitioner's control and not due to any wilful neglect. The delay was purely technical and there was no loss of revenue and nor any attempt to evade tax. 7. In support of her arguments, the Counsel for the Petitioner relied upon the judgments of this Court in the case of Mirae Asset Foundation Vs. Pr. Commissioner of Income-tax (Writ Petition No. 713 of 2025), Sau Dwarkabai tai Karwa Charitable Trust Vs. Commissioner of Income-tax (....
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.... would be denied the exemption otherwise claimed under the provisions of Section 11 of the Act and which is a substantial amount. 10. We are of the view that Respondent No.1 ought to have taken a justice oriented approach rather than a pedantic one, and condoned the delay. We also find that in similar facts, this Court in the case of Mirae Asset Foundation (supra), Sau Dwarkabai tai Karwa Charitable Trust (supra) and Kotak Family Foundation (supra) has taken a similar view and condoned the delay. Even the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court in the case of Sarvodaya Charitable Trust (supra) took the view that in cases like the present one (delay in filing Form No.10B), the approach of the authorities ought to be equitious, balancing and judicious ....