The Pune bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently held that exemption under Section 11 of Income Tax Act, 1961 can be availed only when the return of income filed in the manner prescribed Section 139(4A) of the Income Tax Act.
Section 11 of the Income Tax Act provides exemption to the income derived from the property held by a trust and if such income is applied for charitable or religious purpose in India.
Section 139(4A) of the Income Tax Act states about the return of income of a person who derived income from the property held by the charitable trust.
Assessee Arya Kshatriya Samaj is a Trust registered under Bombay Public Trust Act, 1951 and the assessee was also duly registered under the provisions of section 12A of the Income Tax Act.
When the return was filed by the assessee, the Central Processing Center (CPC) denied the exemption under Section 11 on the ground that the return of income was not filed within the due date for filing the return of income.
Aggrieved assese filed an appeal with the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC). Then the NFAC confirmed the action of the CPC. Therefore the assessee filed an appeal before the tribunal.
No one appeared for assessee while the matter was under consideration of the tribunal.
Suhas Kulkarni, Counsel for the revenue submitted that in order to avail the exemption under Section 11, it is a mandatory condition that the return of income should be filed in the manner prescribed under sub-section (4A) of section 139 of the Act
In the assessee’s case, the return of income was admittedly filed beyond the due date prescribed under Section 139(4A) of Income Tax Act. Hence, assessee was not entitled for exemption under Section 11 Income Tax Act 1961.
The tribunal observed that the provisions of Income Tax Act had not conferred any discretion on the assessing authority or the appellate authority to condone the delay in filing the return of income.
Thereafter, the single bench of Inturi Rama Rao, (Accountant Member) determined that,
“The provisions of section 12A (ba) Income Tax Act 1961 provides that the exemption under Section 11 of Income Tax Act 1961 can be availed only if the return of income was filed in the manner prescribed under the provisions of section 139(4A) of the Act which in turn requires that an assessee claiming exemption of income under Section 11 Income Tax Act 1961 to file the return of income within the due date prescribed under Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act 1961.”
Moreover, in the absence of any discretionary power, neither the assessing authority nor the appellate authority can relax the provisions of the Statute.
Therefore the bench dismissed the appeal of the assessee.
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