The Ahmedabad Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal( ITAT ) remanded the matter to the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer( JAO ) for reconsideration, taking into account the delay condonation orders for Forms 10B and 9A issued by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)[CIT(E)]. The tribunal directed the JAO to review these orders and allow the assessee an opportunity to present the necessary documents and details.
Ganpat Vidhyanagar Uma Parivar Trust, the appellant-assessee, was a public charitable trust registered under the Gujarat Public Trust Act and section 12A of the Income Tax Act. It engaged in educational activities and operated a hostel for Ganpat University students.
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The assessee had filed its return of income(ROI) for the assessment year (AY) on 15.02.2018 declaring Rs.1,00,921. After scrutiny, the assessing officer(AO) disallowed Rs.82,00,000 of income accumulation and a Rs.21,99,278 exemption, determining the total income at Rs.1,03,99,278. As the assessee missed the deadline for filing Form 10B, the exemption under Section 11 was denied, and tax was imposed.
The assessee dissatisfied with the AO’s assessment order filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)[CIT(A)]. The assessee argued that it had requested delay condonation from Principal Commissioner of Income Tax(Exemption) [Pr.CIT(E)], Ahmedabad, for Forms 10B and 9A based on Circular No. 30/2019. However, since the results of these requests were not submitted, the CIT(A) dismissed the appeal.
Being dissatisfied with the decision passed by the CIT(A) the assessee filed an appeal before the tribunal.
Shri Samir Vora represented on behalf of the assessee. The counsel contended that CIT(E) had condoned the delay in filing the form 10B and 9A with orders dated 12.06.2020 and 24.02.2020, respectively. The counsel requested that these orders be acknowledged and the case be sent back to the AO for review.
Shri Sudhendu Das, representing on behalf of the revenue-respondent, noted that the delay condonation orders were not presented to the CIT(A) and proposed remanding the case to the AO for review and merit-based decision.
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The two-member bench comprising Senthil Kumar (Judicial Member) and Narendra Prasad Sinha (Accountant Member) remanded the matter to the JAO to review the CIT(E)’s orders.
The tribunal directed a fresh assessment, ensuring the assessee was given a chance to be heard and instructed the assessee to provide all required details and documents. The appeal was allowed on these terms.
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