Relief to Sacred Heart Church u/s 11: ITAT rules Form 10B filing Directory, Condones Delay of 39 Days Filing Form [Read Order]
The ITAT held that the 39 day delay in filing Form 10B was condonable, treating the requirement as directory, and directed the Assessing Officer to grant relief under Section 11.
Form10B - filing - taxscan
Form10B - filing - taxscan
The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) has granted relief to Sacred Heart Church under Section 12A/12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and held that a short delay of 39 days in filing Form 10B cannot be a ground for denial of exemption under Section 11. The Tribunal observed that the requirement of furnishing Form 10B within the due date is directory and not mandatory.
The assessee, Sacred Heart Church, a trust registered under the Maharashtra Public Trust Act, is a religious and charitable trust managing the Sacred Heart Church at Santacruz, Mumbai, which provides food, educational aid, and medical help to poor and needy persons.
The trust filed its return of income on 14 November 2024, and the audit report in Form 10B was also filed on the same date, resulting in a delay of 39 days from the due date of 7 October 2024.
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The appeal arose from the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (CIT(A)) dated 21 March 2025 for the Assessment Year (AY) 2024-25, wherein relief under Section 11 was denied due to the delay in filing of Form 10B within time.
The Central Processing Centre (CPC), while processing the return, disallowed the benefit of application of income under Section 11 due to the delay.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee relied upon judicial decisions, including Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception v. ITO (2025), submitting that where Form 10B is available before the Assessing Officer at the time of processing, the exemption should not be denied.
The Bench comprising Pawan Singh (Judicial Member) and Renu Jauhri (Accountant Member) held that the delay was only procedural and condonable. The Tribunal directed the jurisdictional Assessing Officer (AO) to verify the facts and allow appropriate relief under Section 11.
Accordingly, the appeal of Sacred Heart Church was allowed for statistical purposes.
The assessee was represented by M.A. Gohel, while Swapnil Chaudhary appeared for the Revenue.Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscanpremium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
