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Facts
The assessee filed its return of income claiming a deduction under Section 80-IA. The auditor uploaded the audit report on the extended due date, but the assessee could not accept it due to technical glitches on the Income Tax portal, preventing timely filing. Consequently, the CPC disallowed the deduction.
Held
The Tribunal held that the failure to file the audit report within the due date was solely attributable to technical glitches and not the assessee's fault. Therefore, the assessee should not suffer adverse consequences for reasons beyond its control.
Key Issues
Whether the disallowance of deduction under Section 80-IA due to technical glitches preventing timely filing of the audit report is justified.
Sections Cited
143(1), 80IA, 143(1)(a), 80IA(7), 18BBB, 44AB, 143
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad ‘A’ Bench, Hyderabad
Before: SHRI VIJAY PAL RAO & SHRI MADHUSUDAN SAWDIA
आदेश/ORDER PER MADHUSUDAN SAWDIA, A.M.: This appeal is filed by M/s. BVSR SSG Road Projects Pvt. Ltd. (“the assessee”), feeling aggrieved by the order passed by the Learned ADDL/JCIT(A)-1, Nashik (“Ld. ADDL/JCIT(A)”), dated 31.08.2024 for the A.Y. 2021-22. 2. At the outset, it is observed that, there is a delay of 21 days in the filing of the appeal by the assessee. To address this delay, the assessee has filed a petition for condonation of delay, supported by an affidavit explaining the reasons for the delay. The learned Authorised Representative (“Ld. AR”) submitted that, their tax consultant was occupied with the preparation and filing of time-barring tax audit returns, which resulted in the delay of 21 days in filing the appeal. The learned Departmental Representative (“Ld. DR”) raised no objection to the condonation of the delay. After considering the submissions of both the parties, the delay of 21 days in filing the appeal by the assessee is condoned. Accordingly, the appeal is admitted for adjudication. 3. The assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal :
1. 3. The brief facts of the case as culled out from the record are that, the assessee is a company, filed its return of income on 15th March 2022 for the A.Y. 2021-22, declaring a total income of Rs.7583610/- after claiming a deduction under Section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act,1961 (“the Act”) of Rs.77967920/-. The extended due date for filing the audit report in Form 10CCB (“audit report”) for claiming deduction u/s 80IA of the Act for A.Y. 2021-22 was 15th February 2022. The auditor of the assessee uploaded the audit report from their Income Tax portal on the extended due date, i.e., 15th February 2022. However, the assessee could not accept the audit report on the same date due to technical glitches on the Income Tax portal. Consequently, the audit report could not be filed within the stipulated time. The Central Processing Centre (“CPC”) passed an intimation u/s 143(1) of the Act on 13th November 2022, disallowing the deduction claimed u/s 80-IA of the Act on the ground that the audit report was not filed by the assessee within the extended due date.
4. Aggrieved by the order of CPC, the assessee filed appeal before the Ld. ADDL/JCIT(A). The Ld. ADDL/JCIT(A) upheld the disallowance made by CPC, holding that, unless the audit report is filed within the prescribed due date, no deduction under Section 80-IA could be allowed. Consequently, the Ld. ADDL/JCIT(A) dismissed the appeal of the assessee.
Aggrieved by the order of the Ld. ADDL/JCIT(A), the assesssee is in appeal before us. The Ld. AR submitted that, on the extended due date, i.e., 15th February 2022, the auditor of the assessee had duly uploaded the audit report from the auditor’s Income Tax portal. However, due to technical glitches on the assessee’s Income Tax portal, the assessee could not accept the audit report on the same date, and as a result, the audit report could not be filed within the prescribed time. To substantiate their claim, the Ld. AR produced before us the copy of e-mail dated 15th February 2022, raising a grievance regarding the technical glitches in which they had also enclosed a copy of Form 10CCB, confirming that the audit report had been prepared and uploaded on time. The Ld. AR also submitted the copy of subsequent e-mail dated 12th March 2022, showing that the assessee made another attempt to resolve the grievance. The Ld. AR further argued that the delay in filing the audit report was due to technical issues and not due to negligence or fault on the part of the assessee. Despite genuine efforts, the assessee’s grievances could not be resolved. The Ld. AR also pointed out that the Ld. ADDL/JCIT(A) dismissed the appeal without adequately considering these facts. Accordingly, the Ld. AR prayed that the appeal be allowed.
6. Per contra the Ld. DR contended that, the assessee is still not able to file the audit report on the income tax portal and, therefore, prayed that the deduction under Section 80-IA should not be allowed to the assessee.
We have heard the rival contentions and also gone through the record in the light of the submissions made by either side. There is no dispute about the facts that the extended due date for filing the audit report was 15th February 2022 and the auditor had duly uploaded the audit report on the extended due date from their Income Tax portal however, the assessee could not accept the audit report on the same date due to technical glitches on the Income Tax portal. It is found that the assessee made genuine efforts to comply with the statutory requirement, as evident from record that grievances were raised on 15th February 2022 and 12th March 2022 regarding the technical issues and attempts were made to resolve the issue through proper channels, which remained unresolved. The failure to file the audit report within the due date was solely attributable to technical glitches and not due to any default or negligence on the part of the assessee. In such circumstances, the assessee should not suffer adverse consequences for reasons beyond its control. In light of the above, we direct the Ld. AO to accept the audit report i.e. form 10CCB in physical form and, after verifying the same, allow the deduction claimed u/s 80-IA of the Act as per the law. Accordingly, the appeal of the assessee is allowed.
In the result, the appeal of assessee is allowed.