SHREE GANESH MANDIR SANSTHAN,DOMBIVLI vs. ITO (EXEMPTION), THANE, THANE
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, “SMC” BENCH, MUMBAI
Before: SMT. BEENA PILLAI, JM
Per: Smt. Beena Pillai, J.M.:
Present appeal filed by the assessee arises out of order dated
30.07.2024 passed by the Ld.CIT(A). -2, Ahmadabad for assessment year 2014-15 on the following grounds of appeal:
“Being aggrieved by the order dated 30.07.2024passed by the learned
Additional/Joint
Commissioner of Income
Tax
(Appeals)- 2, Ahmedabad [“Ld. First Appellate Authority” or “FAA”] u/s 250 of the Income-tax Act,1961 (“Act”), your
I.T.A. No.5381/Mum/2024
Assessment Year: 2014-15
appellant prefers this appeal, among others, on the following grounds of appeal, each of which is without prejudice to, and independent of, the other:
1. On the facts and in the circumstances of the case, and in law, the Ld. FAA erred in not condoning the delay in filing the appeal before him. The appellant submits that the Ld. FAA failed to appreciate that the delay was caused due to reasonable and sufficient reasons and therefore, he ought to have condoned the delay. Your appellant, therefore, prays that the aforesaid delay may kindly be condoned, and the matter be restored to the file of the Ld. FAAfor adjudication on its merits.
2. On the facts and in the circumstances of the case, and in law, the appellant submits that it is eligible to claim exemption u/s. 11 of the Act of Rs.99,80,935/- as per its returned income as against Rs.92,30,935/- allowed by the Ld. ACIT, (CPC),
Bengaluru. The appellant, therefore, prays that exemption u/s.
11 be fully allowed to it as claimed in the return of income.
3. Your appellant craves leave to alter, modify, amend or delete any of the above grounds of appeal, or to add one or more new ground(s), as may be necessary.”
2. Brief facts of the case are as under:
The assessee is a public trust registered under the Income tax Act and has been filing returns regularly. For the year under consideration the assessee filed its return of income on 05.11.2014
electronically, but failed to upload Form No. 10 due to technical reasons. The CPC while passing the intimation u/s 143(1)
I.T.A. No.5381/Mum/2024
Assessment Year: 2014-15
disallowed the deduction claimed u/s 11(2) and 11(5) for non filing of Form No. 10. Aggrieved by the intimation, the assessee preferred an appeal before the Ld.CIT(A).
3. Before the Ld. CIT(A), it was submitted that, assessment year
2014-15 was the first year when the e-filing of Form 10 was made mandatory and due to certain technical difficulties the same could not be filed. It was submitted by the assessee, that various representation were made before the authorities as well as CBDT regarding the technical issues. Subsequently, the CBDT issued
Circular No. 7 on 20.12.2018 authorising the appropriate authority to admit the belated applications filed in Form 10. 3.1 The Ld. CIT(A), however, rejected the appeal filed by the assessee and did not condone the delay caused in filing the appeal before the first appellate authority.
Aggrieved by the order of Ld. CIT(A), the assessee is under appeal before this Tribunal.
4. The Ld.AR submitted that, there was delay of 52 days in filing appeal before the first appellate authority. It was submitted that the assessee was pursuing alternate remedies by requesting various authorities to consider and appreciate the technical difficulties faced by the assessee that caused the delay in filing appeal before the first appellate authority.
I.T.A. No.5381/Mum/2024
Assessment Year: 2014-15
1 However on merits, the Ld.AR submitted that the CBDT vide Circular No.7 on 20.12.2018 authorised appropriate authorities to admit Form 10 filed belatedly. The Ld.AR thus prayed for consideration of the issue as per CBDT Circular relied on by them. 4.2 The Ld. DR on the contrary relied on the order passed by the authorities below. I have perused the submission advanced by both the sides in the light of the records placed before me. 5. Admittedly, there was delay of 52 days in filing appeal before the first appellate authority. It is also noticed that, the said delay was unintentional, as the assessee approached various authorities to consider the circumstances and faced by the assessee in uploading Form 10 alongwith return of income filed. Therefore, in the interest of justice, delay in filing the appeal before the first appellate authority stands condoned. 5.1 Coming to the inability of the assessee, in filing Form No.10 alongwith the return of income, the CBDT has considered the view of authorising appropriate authorities to condone the delay in filing form 10 vide Circular No. 7/2018. Accordingly, in the interest of natural justice, this issue is remitted back to the Ld.AO to consider the claim of assessee by accepting the form 10. The Ld.AO is directed to carry further verification in respect of exemption claimed by the assessee u/s 11 in accordance with law. Needless to say that I.T.A. No.5381/Mum/2024 Assessment Year: 2014-15
appropriate opportunity of being heard must be granted to the assessee.
Accordingly, grounds raised by the assessee stands partly allowed.
In the result, appeal filed by the assessee stands partly allowed.
Order pronounced in the open court on 14.01.2025 (BEENA PILLAI)
Judicial Member
14/01/2025
AKV
(On Tour to Mumbai)
Copy of the order forwarded to:
(1)The Appellant
(2) The Respondent
(3) The CIT
(4) The CIT (Appeals)
(5) The DR, I.T.A.T.By order