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2025 (5) TMI 2326

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....ithout affording sufficient opportunity of being heard being against established principles of law and that of natural justice and thus needs to be quashed. 3. That the orders of Ld. CIT (Appeals), U/S 250, INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT, NFAC, (APPEALS), DELHI are illegal, erroneous and perverse having passed without waiting disposal of for the rectification application u/s 154 filed and lying pending before the Ld. A.O. on the similar issues as taken in the grounds of appeal in form No. 35 filed before the Ld. CIT(A). 4. That the orders of Ld. CIT (Appeals), U/S 250, INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT, NFAC, (APPEALS), DELHI are illegal, erroneous and perverse having passed without affording sufficient opportunity of being heard having sought adjournment on sufficient grounds, thus being against established principles of law and that of natural justice and thus needs to be quashed. 5. That the orders of Ld. CIT (Appeals), U/S, 250, INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT, NFAC, (APPEALS), DELHI is erroneous and illegal having confirmed the original assessment order by the Ld. Α.Ο. u/s 143(3) which was passed by not considering the facts and circumstances and the contentions of t....

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....for complete scrutiny. 3.2 It is observed by the AO that the appellant filed its ITR for the A.Y. 2017-18 on 17.3.2018 belatedly and audit report in form 10B was filed on 31.8.2018 after due date. The Assessing Officer further mentioned in the order that the appellant has not submitted valid certificate of registration u/s. 12A of the I T Act, 1961 before the AO. 3.3 The assessee vide reply dated 29.11.2019 had mentioned that the copy of the 12A certificate was submitted at the time of last year hearing that is A.Y. 2016-17. It was further submitted in the reply that the assessment order u/s 143(3) for the A.Y. 2015-16 and 2016- 17 was passed by the Assessing Officer and the appeals and these two assessment years are pending before the ld. CIT(A). 3.4 The Assessing Officer after a gap of almost two years vide letter dated 03.03.2021 has asked the assessee to furnish the following documents a. Trust Deed/Memorandum of Association b. Certificate of Registration u/s 12A c. Certificate under 80G of IT Act if applicable d. Certificate of Registration from Charity Commissioner e. Certificate Details of any amendment made in the Trust ....

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....  Total 13,18,72,483/-, 13,06,30,873   We have already submitted that we are purchasing building material in lump sum. We are not maintaining any separate record of cost incurred by us on each and every school building. One account is maintained. However, amount incurred by us on buildings is less than your valuation. Your honour has got valued our building for the A.Y. 2016-17. Our valuation is less than your valuation. Copy of appeal filed for A.Ys. 2016-17 and 2016-17 is enclosed. We have taken building expenses as application of money. Expenses as per your then your valuation being less, we should be given benefit. If you then would have objection to it. Our application of money is less than your valuation. Our cash book from 01.11.2016 to 31.12.2016 is submitted along with reply of 30.11.2019. Cash has been deposited out of cash available in books. This cash has been generated due to cash withdrawals from banks and fee received. Our cash book is duly reflected. Proof submitted. No cash has been deposited during demonetization. Gift received, sale of land and other capital asset, cash has been deposited out of old income, school ....

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....be chargeable to tax. 3.4 Under the provisions of section 12A of the Act, where the total income of a trust or institution as computed under the Act without giving effect to the provisions of section 11 and section 12 exceeds the maximum amount which is not chargeable to income-tax in any previous year, the accounts of the trust or institution for that year are to be audited by an accountant as defined in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288 and the person in receipt of the income is required to furnish along with the return of income for the relevant assessment year 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. 3.5 Further, as per Rule 17B of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') the audit report of the accounts of such a trust or institution is to be furnished in Form no. 10B. As per Rule 12(2) of the Rules, such audit report is to be furnished electronically. The failure to furnish such report in the prescribed form along with the return of income results in disentitlement of the trust from claiming exemption under....

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.... record in as much as the assessee had never made a statement or submission that the 12A certificate has been cancelled by the Ld. CIT(A). e. The ld. AR submitted that the during the assessment proceeding the entire cash book and other documents were provided to the Assessing Officer explaining the trail of cash which is clear from the reply dated 03.03.2021. ld. AR relied upon the decision in the case of: Smt. Charu Aggarwal vs. DCIT ITA No.310/Chd/2021 deciding on 25.03.2022. f. The ld. AR had submitted that the Ld. CIT(A) has wrongly passed the order, without deciding the appeal on merit. It was submitted by him that failure on the part of the Ld. CIT(A) to decide the matter will not go in favour of the revenue for seeking the remand of the matter. It was submitted that there is no power with the tribunal to remand the matter back to the file of the lower authority and in support of the above proposition he relied upon the following judgments: I. Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd. vs. ITAT, Mumbai [2019] 411 ITR 447 (Bombay HC). II. Coca cola India P. Ltd. Vs. Assistant Registrar representing ITAT [2014] 52 taxmann.com 399 (Bombay....

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....e various statutory notices except copy of Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure account for the F.Y. 2016-17, which was received manually on 20.11.2019. The concerned Assessing Officer was not satisfied about the correctness as well as completeness of the accounts submitted by the assessee. The related document is enclosed for ready reference as annexure '2' (on page-13 to 16). 4. It is pertinent to mention that several opportunities were extended to the assessee, wherein the assessee was requested to submit valid certificate of exemption u/s 12 A. However, the assessee submitted unsigned and non-certified photocopy of the certificate which does not exhibits the authenticity of the document. The copy of the certificate is enclosed herewith as annexure '3' (on page-17) for your kind perusal. It is pertinent to mention here that an order with the reference number CIT- 1/LDH/Tech./12-A/27/2003-04/3287 showcasing only month and year as Dec 2003 and no particular date is mentioned. On another glance of the page it is seen that document/page has been attested by an Income Tax Officer dated 16.12.2022, whereas the assessee has submitted the similar document vide....

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....they have forwarded a copy of dispatch register of F.Y. 2003-04 of date 11.12.2003. In that, an entry no. 3887 is marked only as 'regarding registration u/s 12A(a)', which neither approves nor disapproves of registration u/s 12A(a)', thus the validity of the certificate could not be ascertained by the document supplied by the office of PCIT-1, Ludhiana. The same is annexed as Annexure '5' (on page-26 to 31) for your kind perusal and ready reference. 10. It has been observed that the counsel for the assessee has been persistently non-cooperative, and has exhibited dismissive attitude towards compliances and in his written submission, whereas the department had been constantly calling for the record. 11. Therefore, it is prayed to this Hon'ble Bench to set aside the case of the assessee to CIT(Exemptions) and to verify the documents submitted by the assessee in lieu of granting an opportunity to the assessee to be heard." 10. The learned AR submitted that the assessment orders for the Assessment Years (AYs) 2017-18 and 2018-19 were both passed by the same Assessing Officer on the same day. In the assessment order for AY 2017-18, the AO den....

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.... of the Act. 12.2 In this case, when the certificate of registration was available on record with the Assessing Officer (AO), it was the AO's duty either to accept the same or to assert, with reference to the revenue record, that the said certificate was no longer valid. The Revenue filed a report pursuant to the Tribunal's direction dated 22/04/2025, wherein it was categorically mentioned that the record of the Revenue is not traceable with respect to approving or disapproving the registration under section 12A of the Act. 12.3 In our considered opinion, the Revenue is the custodian of the record regarding the grant or refusal of registration to any assessee. The Revenue cannot shirk its primary responsibility by simply alleging that the record is unavailable or that it is not in a position to confirm or deny the registration status. We do not approve of this approach taken by the Revenue. 12.4 Ironically, in the present case, both the assessee and the Revenue were unable to produce the original certificate of registration under section 12A or the related records. Under these circumstances, the Tribunal is left with no option but to rely on the other undisputed and uncont....

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....a trust or institution as computed under the Act without giving effect to the provisions of section 11 and section 12 exceeds the maximum amount which is not chargeable to income-tax in any previous year, the accounts of the trust or institution for that year have to be audited by an accountant as defined in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288 and the person in receipt of the income is required to furnish along with the return of income for the relevant assessment year 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. 14.2 Further, as per Rule 17B of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') the audit report of the accounts of such a trust or institution is to be furnished in Form no. 10B. As per Rule 12(2) of the Rules, such audit report is to be furnished electronically. The failure to furnish such report in the prescribed form along with the return of income results in disentitlement of the trust from claiming exemption under sections 11 and 12 of the Act. 14.3 In the present case, the assessee was required to fil....

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.... to the record. 12.8 As mentioned hereinabove, for AYs 2015-16 and 2016-17, the AO also treated the assessee as an AOP, but in those years, the reasoning was that the assessee had failed to file the requisite audit report along with the return of income. It has been informed by the learned Authorized Representative (AR) that the appellate proceedings for AYs 2015-16 and 2016-17 are pending before the learned CIT(A). 12.9 The learned AR has also drawn attention to CBDT Circular No. 10/2019 dated 22/05/2019 issued by the Board, which states as under: 4. Accordingly, in supersession of earlier Circular/ Instruction issued in this regard, and with a view to expedite the disposal of applications filed by such trusts or institutions for condoning the delay in filing Form no. 1013 and in exercise of the powers conferred under section 119(2) of the Act, the Central Board of Direct Taxes hereby directs that: (i) The delay in filing of Form no. 1013 for AY 2016 17 and AY 2017-18, in all such cases where the Audit Report for the previous year has been obtained before the filing of return of income and has been furnished subsequent to the filing of the return of income ....

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....the Assessing Officer. These factual aspects are yet to be adjudicated, and the assessee must furnish all requisite documents and evidence supporting its claim. In view of the above, considering that the factual matrix remains incomplete and the evidentiary record is insufficient, we are of the considered opinion that, although the Tribunal ordinarily has the jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter on its own, in the peculiar circumstances of the present case, it is not feasible to do so. Accordingly, the Tribunal has no alternative but to remit the matter to the Assessing Officer's file for fresh adjudication in accordance with law. In light of the foregoing discussions, we find that the judicial precedents relied upon by the assessee are distinguishable on facts and, therefore, not applicable to the present case, as this is not a fit case where the Tribunal can render a conclusive decision at this stage in the interest of justice. 13. In view of the foregoing observations, the matter is hereby remanded to the file of the learned Assessing Officer with a direction to frame a fresh assessment order after granting a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee with the fol....

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.... The benefit of section 12A has been denied to the Assessee by the Assessing Officer. The Ld. AO observed in paragraph No. 4 of the assessment order that this certificate has not been filed. However, after para 4 on page 2, A.O. has started paragraph No. 3.2, We failed to appreciate how this numbering has been changed but in paragraph No. 3.2 the A.O. has taken note of a letter dated 3.3.2021 whose copy is annexed at page 40 of the paper book. Ld. Counsel for the Assessee while appraising us page 40 has pointed out that at page 47, the Assessee has annexed the copy of 12A Certificate. He further submitted, in spite of this availability of the Certificate the benefit of 12A had been denied to the Assessee. > Dissatisfied of the assessment order dated 16.04.2021. Assessee carried the matter in appeal before Id. CIT(A) but ld. CIT(A) has decided the appeal ex-parte vide order dated 17.6.2022 and did not adhere the procedure contemplated in sub section 6 of Section 250. In other words, it appears that the CIT(A) has not called for the complete record of the assessment. Therefore, we direct the CIT DR to produce the complete assessment record in order to satisfy ourselves whether the....