Loading judgment…
Facts
The assessee, a charitable trust, applied for registration under Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The CIT (Exemptions) rejected the application citing insufficient documents, despite the assessee claiming to have submitted them online. The appeal was filed belatedly.
Held
The Tribunal condoned the delay in filing the appeal. It noted that the assessee claimed to have submitted all necessary documents online on 10.07.2024, which appeared to have been overlooked by the CIT(E). The revenue did not object to a remand.
Key Issues
Whether the CIT(E) erred in rejecting the registration application without considering the documents submitted by the assessee? Whether proper opportunity of hearing was granted?
Sections Cited
12A(1)(ac)(iii)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, AMRITSAR BENCH: AMRITSAR.
Before: SH. UDAYAN DAS GUPTA & SH. KRINWANT SAHAY
Appellant by Sh. P. N. Arora, Adv. Respondent by Sh. Bharat Bhushan Garg, CIT. DR Date of Hearing 09.04.2025 Date of Pronouncement 24.04.2025 ORDER Per: Udayan Das Gupta, J.M.:
This appeal is filed by the assessee against the order of Ld. CIT (E), Chandigarh, dated 06/08/2024, rejecting the application for registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act 61, on the ground of insufficiency of documents.
2. Condonation of delay:
Assessment Year.: 2024-25 2 It is pointed out by the registry that the appeal is belatedly filed by 27 days. An application for condonation of delay has been filed by the assessee stating that the order dated 06.08.2024 passed by the ld. CIT(E), against which the appeal was to be filed by 05.10.2024, has been actually submitted by post on 01.11.2024 which is belated by 27 days. It is submitted by the assessee that the authorised counsel was fully engaged in filing of TDS returns, the last date of which was 31.10.2024 and as such, he could not prepare the appeal within the time and as such, he prayed that the delay of 27 days as attributable to the counsel of the assessee, may please be condoned being unintentional. The ld. DR has no objection. Considering the submission of the ld. AR of the assessee we condone the delay and admit the appeal to be heard on merits.
The grounds of appeal contained in Form 36 are as follows:
“1. That the order dated 06/08/2024 passed by the CIT (Exemptions) Chandigarh u/s 12 A(1)(ac)(iii) thereby not granting the registration to the assessee-society is against the facts of this case and is untenable under the law.
That no reasonable and proper opportunity of being heard was allowed by the CIT(E) before passing the said order. As such the order passed by the CIT(E) is bad in the eyes of law and the same is liable to be cancelled.
Assessment Year.: 2024-25 3
3. That the CIT(E) has grossly erred in not granting the registration. The application for registration u/s 12A(l)(ac)(iii) was duly filed on 13/02/2024. The Ld. CIT(E) did not appreciate that the trust was genuine and the objects of the same were in accordance with the law. It was requested during the course of assessment proceedings that some time may be allowed to file the necessary information as the Accountant was not keeping good health.
4. That the Ld. CIT(E) did not appreciate that reply was duly filed on 10/07/2024 in response to questionnaire and furthermore time should have been granted for filing the balance reply. The trust is a charitable trust and there was no reason and occasion for not granting the registration as claimed.
5. That the CIT(E) may be directed to allow the time for filing the balance information as desired as the time allowed was very short.
6. That any other ground of appeal which may be argued at the time of hearing of the appeal.”
Brief facts emerging from the records are that the assessee is a charitable trust which applied for registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act 1961.
4.1 In response to such application, numerous notices were issued from the office of the ld. CIT(E) calling for documentary evidences to verify the genuineness of the activities of the trust. In absence of any response from the Assessment Year.: 2024-25 4 assessee to nine such notices issued on nine different dates (as evidence from page 6 of the order) issued in the portal as well as in the e-mail ID provided.
In course of hearing before the Tribunal, the ld. AR of the assessee trust submitted that reply to notices issued by the office of the ld. CIT(E) has been filed in the online portal on 10.07.2024 along with all necessary documents as called for by the office of ld. CIT(E). In support of his contention he produced before us the copy of the e-proceedings response acknowledgement dated 10.07.2024 which reflects the submission of the documents in the online portal, which has not been considered by the ld. CIT(E) while disposing of application for registration.
The ld. DR also admits to the submission of this documents in the online portal as evident from the documentary evidences produced by the assessee and he had no objection, if the matter is remanded back for fresh consideration.
We have heard the rival submissions and considered the materials on record, and the documentary evidences produced by the assessee regarding submissions of all papers and documents uploaded in the portal on 10.07.2024 which has been overlooked by the ld. CIT(E) while disposing of the application. In the interest of justice, we remand the matter back to the file of the ld. CIT(E) for consideration of the application for registration afresh after taking into cognizance of the documentary evidences submitted by the assessee and we also direct the assessee Assessment Year.: 2024-25 5 to file copies of the said documentary evidences before the ld. CIT(E) and to be fully cooperate in the fresh proceedings. As such, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes.
In the result, the appeal of the assessee bearing is allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced on 24.04.2025 at Amritsar, Punjab in accordance with Rule 34(4) of the Income tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963.