TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 2079
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....r a period 2022-23 to 2026-27. The assessee for the year under consideration filed a return of income [for short 'ITR'] declaring income of Rs.5,070/- along-with audit report Form-10B on 14/10/2022. The return was summarily processed by the Ld. CPC whereby claim for exemption u/s 11 & 12 of the Act was denied for defaulting in filing audit report within the prescribed time. As a result, taxable income was determined at Rs.5,42,033/- being the sum of voluntary contribution and income derived from the property held under Trust. 2.2 Aggrieved assessee assailed denial of exemptions in an appeal u/s 246A(1) of the Act. Reiterating assessee's failure to furnish the audit report within the due date prescribed u/s 12A(b)(ii) r.w.s. 44AB of the Act, the said appeal was dismissed by the Ld. NFAC. 2.3 In aforestated circumstances, the assessee brought up its grievance in present appeal with a substantive grounds directed against denial of exemption for belated filing of audit report. 3. During the course of hearing, the Ld. AR appearing on behalf of appellant submitted that, belated filing of Form-10B is the sole reason behind denial of exemption by the Revenue. The assessee filed it....
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....ct to rule 18 of ITAT-Rules, 1963 perused the material placed on records and considered the facts of the case in the light of settled position of law. 6. Before we advance to settle the dispute, let us first indurate the factual matrix in clear terms; in the case of the appellant, originally the due date for filing audit report and return of income for the year under consideration respectively were 30/09/2022 and 31/10/2022. However, the CBDT vide circular 19/2022 extended the due date for filing audit report electronically to 07/10/2022 and similarly vide circular 20/2022 the due for filing return of income was also extended to 07/11/2022. It is an admitted fact that, vide audit report dt. 24/08/2022 the books of account of the appellant were duly audited within the stipulated time period. Thereafter, audit report and return of income were filed together by the appellant electronically on 14/10/2022. Thus, although the return of income in the instant case was filed within the extended due date(supra), the audit report in Form-10B was however filed after the expiry of extended period within which it was required to be filed u/s 12A(b)(ii) r.w.e (ii) to section 44AB of the Act, s....
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.... . . get his accounts of such previous year audited by an accountant before the specified date and furnish by that date the report of such audit in the prescribed form duly signed and verified by such accountant and setting forth such particulars as may be prescribed : Explanation.-For the purposes of this section,- (i) "accountant" shall have the same meaning as in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288; (ii) "Specified date", in relation to the accounts of the assessee of the previous year relevant to an assessment year, means [date one month prior to] [the due date for furnishing the return of income under sub-section(1) of section 139] (emphasis supplied) 10. Let's first deal with ground number 2 relating to substantive verses procedural lapses on the part of appellant in complying with the provisions; a mindful reading of provision of s/clause (ii) of clause (b) of section 12A of the Act reveals that, the obligation to cause & get the accounts/books audited is on the trust or the institution whereas the duty of filing the audit report is casted upon the person who is in receipt of income on behalf of such Trust. It ....
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....der any law are required to be condoned in the larger interest of justice where no gross negligence or deliberate inaction or lack of bonafide is imputable to the party seeking condonation of delay. ['Collector, Land Acquisition Vs Katiji'[AIR 1987 SC 1353]. In view of the former judicial precedents (supra), the bonafide belief of the appellant in our view forms a sufficient reasons for pardoning the delay and the default. Thus once the substantive compliance of clause (ii) of 12A(b) of the Act is made before the expiry of specified time (supra), then delay in uploading the report being procedural cannot be so fatal take away the legal entitlement. 13. The aforestated proposition has been fostered by catena of judicial precedents including 'CIT(E) Vs Anjana Foundation'(supra), 'Nav Chetna Charitable Trust Vs CIT(E)'[2024, 169 taxmann.com 543 (Bom)], 'Shree Bhairav Seva Samiti Vs ITO'[2023, 101 ITR 708(Mum)] & 'Sirur Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Vs ACIT' (supra). In absence of anything contrary brought on record by the Revenue, there is no reasons to divert from settled legal position. Therefore, respectfully following judicial precedents(supra), we set-aside the impugned order on th....
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....contraire the appellant see it with reference to 'section 139(4A) r.w.s. 139(1) of the Act unlike the Revenue. The appellant claimed that, filing of audit report is the duty of the person in receipt of income on behalf of trust/institution therefore filing of such report any time before the expiry of due date prescribed u/s 139(4A) r.w.s. 139(1) of the Act ensures the compliance for section 12A(b)(ii) of the Act. Thus, the time for filing audit report was available to appellant till 07/11/2022 being extended due date for filing of return and not 07/10/2022 being extended specified date. Thus the Revenue's claim go on fire on the appellant's assertion that, the time limit set for audit of accounts and time limit allowed for filing such audit-report after such audit report is obtained cannot be one & the same. 17. We concur to the proposition that, once accounts/books are audited and financial statement are attested by the auditor, the audit report is placed for perusal & approval of trustees. Once it is approved, the observations & prescribed details therefrom are pulled into Form-10B for reporting and its authentication by the auditor. The procedure from completion of audit till....