The Kolkata Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) condoned a 24-day delay in filing Form 10B due to technical issues and granted exemption under section 11 of Income Tax Act,1961.
Kaydee Foundation, appellant-assessee, filed its return under section 139 ( 4A ) and submitted the auditor’s report in Form No. 10B on the same day. The Assessing Officer(AO) rejected the exemption under section 11 due to a delay in filing the report. The assessee appealed to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)[CIT(A)], but the appeal was dismissed on the same grounds.
The assessee aggrieved by the order appealed before the tribunal.
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The assessee’s counsel argued that the AO was wrong to reject the exemption under section 11 due to a 24-day delay in filing the audit report. The counsel noted that the report was available when the AO issued the intimation under section 143(1) and the order under section 154. The counsel also stated that filing Form 10B was not mandatory, and referred to ITAT and High Court rulings to support this.
The two member bench comprising Pradip Kumar Choubey(Judicial Member) and Rajesh Kumar (Accountant Member) noted that the assessee, a trust, filed its return of income along with Form No. 10B. The exemption claim was denied due to a 24-day delay in filing the form, which was required one month before the extended due date of November 7, 2022.
The assessee explained that the delay was caused by confusion due to an error by the income tax department and a technical issue in the certificate, which was later corrected. Referring to a Calcutta High Court judgment, the tribunal observed that filing Form No. 10B is procedural and not mandatory.
Comprehensive Guide of Law and Procedure for Filing of Income Tax Appeals, Click Here
The appellate tribunal referred to the Co-ordinate Bench of Kolkata’s decision in Manav Seva Trust vs. AO (ITA No. 940/Kol/2024, dated 9.8.2024), which considered similar issues. The Co-ordinate Bench relied on rulings from various High Courts, including Orissa, Telangana, and Bombay, that allowed delays in filing Form No. 10B due to oversight or human error.
Based on these rulings, the tribunal condoned the delay and directed the AO to grant the exemption as per the law. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
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