ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX , CHANDIGARH V. RAIBAHADUR KISHOR CHAND MAHESHWARI CHARITABLE TRUST, AMRITSAR

ITA 705/CHANDI/2024

AI Insights

The case involves an appeal by the Revenue against the order of the Ld. CIT(A), which had favored the assessee, Raibahadur Kishor Chand Maheshwari Charitable Trust. The Revenue contended that the assessee had filed its Audit Report in Form 10B belatedly, after the extended due date of October 7, 2022, which should disqualify them from receiving tax exemptions under sections 11 and 12 of the Income Tax Act. However, the Tribunal found that the Audit Report was actually filed on September 25, 2022, well within the extended deadline provided by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 107749 (ITAT-CHANDIGARH)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 10-03-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Department
• Order Result: Dismissed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: KUSUM BA NSAL
• Assessee Lawyers: ASHWANI KALIA; C.A
• Keywords: Revenue expenditure; Capital expenditure; Charitable institution
• Section: 11; 12A; 12; 10B

Judgement Text

"आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण,चǷीगढ़ Ɋायपीठ “बी” , चǷीगढ़ IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, CHANDIGARH BENCH “B”, CHANDIGARH HEARING THROUGH: VIRTUAL MODE ŵी लिलत क ुमार, Ɋाियक सद˟ एवं ŵी क ृणवȶ सहाय, लेखा सद˟ BEFORE: SHRI. LALIET KUMAR, JM & SHRI. KRINWANT SAHAY, AM आयकर अपील सं./ ITA No. 705/Chd/ 2024 िनधाŊरण वषŊ / Assessment Year : 2022-23 The Asst. CIT Chandigarh बनाम Raibahadur Kishor Chand Maheshwari Charitable Trust 3-A, The Mall, Thandi Khui, Amritsar, Punjab-143001 ˕ायी लेखा सं./PAN NO: AAATR2448D अपीलाथŎ/Appellant ŮȑथŎ/Respondent िनधाŊįरती की ओर से/Assessee by : Shri Ashwani Kalia, C.A राजˢ की ओर से/ Revenue by : Smt. Kusum Bansal, CIT, DR सुनवाई की तारीख/Date of Hearing : 06/03/2025 उदघोषणा की तारीख/Date of Pronouncement : 10/03/2025 आदेश/Order PER LALIET KUMAR, J.M: This is an appeal filed by the Revenue against the order of the Ld. CIT, Appeal ADDL/JCIT(A)-1, Vadodara dt. 14/05/2024 pertaining to Assessment Year 2022-23. 2. In the present appeal Revenue has raised the sole ground which read as under: “ That the Ld. CIT(A) has erred in fact in allowing relied to the assessee on the basis of timely filing of Audit report whereas the assessee has e-filed its Audit report in Form 10B belatedly after the extended due date of October 7, 2022.” 3. Briefly the facts of the case are that the assessee is a Charitable Trust registered u/s 12A of the Act, both under the old provisions and under the amended provisions applicable w.e.f assessment year 2022-23. Copy of Provisional Registration Certificate issued by Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax Dated 21.5.2021 which is valid from assessment year 2022-23 to assessment year 2026-27 is placed on record. 2 3.1 The assessee trust is running a hospital and its income is exempt u/s 11 and 12 of the Act. The exemption is allowed to the assessee for the last more than 45 years. For the assessment year 2022-23 the assessee trust filed its return of income at NIL income after claiming exemption u/s 11 of the Act. 3.2 Thereafter, the DDI, CPC, Bangalore issued a notice dated 14.2.2023 for the Proposed Adjustment u/s 143(l)(a) proposing to disallow incorrect claim u/s 143(1)(a)(ii) on the following grounds: 1 The details provided at SI.No. A19 of Schedule Part - A General are not matching with the information as per Form 10AC Hence, the amount mentioned at SLNo. 4 & 6(viii) of Part B1- Part 8 Tl is not allowable. 2 The Trust or Institution registered u/s 12A/12AA /12AB has not E-filed the Audit Report in Form 10B at least one month prior to the due date for furnishing return u/s 139(1). Hence the exemption claimed in Sr.no. 6i to 6vii of Part B1 - Part B-TI is not allowable in accordance with the provisions of Section-12A(1 ){b) of the Income tax Act. 3.3 In response, the assessee filed its reply and disagreeing on both the above grounds. 4. After considering the submissions filed by the assessee before the Ld. AO as well as Ld. CIT(A) both the lower authorities have passed the order in favour of the assessee. 5. In the present appeal the Revenue has aggrieved by the order passed by the Ld. CIT(A) on the following grounds: “ 1. That the Ld. CIT(A) has erred in fact in allowing relief to the assessee on the basis of timely filing of Audit report whereas the assessee has e-filed its Audit report in Form 10B belatedly after the extended due date of October, 7, 2022.” 6. The Ld. DR had submitted that in the present case the assessee has filed the Audit Report on 12/10/2022 where as it should have been filed prior thereto. For the above said purposes she had filed two documents i.e Acknowledgement Receipt of Income Tax Forms, copy of which is reproduced below: 3 Based on these documents, it was submitted that the assessee is not entitled to any relief from the tribunal, as the assessee failed to, file the audit report within the time granted by the board. 7. Per contra, the Ld. AR had drawn our attention to para 7.1.3 and 7.1.4 of the order passed by the Ld. CIT(A) which is to the following effect: 4 7.1.3 Gross receipt in the case of the appellant is Rs. 34,88,46,606/-. Out of which the appellant has spent an amount of Rs. 27,60,12,930/- as revenue expenditure and Rs.3,94,80,090/- as capital expenditure. Thus, the appellant has spent almost 90% of the gross receipt for the benefit of trust as per section 11 (2) of the Act. The appellant got Rs. 3,33,53,586/- as exemption u/s 11(1)(a) of the Act. Section 11(1)(a) is reproduced as under: \"11. (1) Subject to the provisions of sections 60 to 63, the following income shall not be included in the total income of the previous year of the person in receipt of the income— (a) income derived from property held under trust wholly for charitable or religious purposes, to the extent to which such income is applied to such purposes in India; and, where any such income is accumulated or set apart for application to such purposes in India, to the extent to which the income so accumulated or set apart is not in excess of fifteen per cent of the income from such property; 7.1.4 Here in this case, the appellant vide submission dated 18.03.2024 submitted that claim of section 11 was rejected on the ground that Trust has not e-filed the audit report in Form 10B one month prior to the due date for furnishing return u/s 139(1). In rebuttal to above, the appellant argued that the date of furnishing the return of income in this instance was October 31, 2022, making the due date for filing the Audit Report September 30, 2022. The Audit Report on Form No. 10B was submitted on September 25. 2022, well within the prescribed timeline. Moreover, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had extended the deadline for filing the Return of Income to November 7, 2022, as per Circular No. 19/2022 in F.No.225/49/2022/ITA-11 dated September 30, 2022. Therefore, the date of filing Audit Report in Form 10B also got extended upto October 7, 2022. Hence, there was no delay in \"filing the Audit Report. 7.1 It was submitted that in the present case the assessee has filed the Audit Report on 25/09/2022, well within time and our attention was drawn to the Audit Report filed after obtaining it from system of the Revenue. It was submitted that there was no delay in filing the Audit Report before the authorities as it was submitted much prior to the time fixed for filing the Audit Report. 8. We have heard the rival contention and perused the material available on the record. In the present case the assessee had filed the Audit Report in Form 10B on 25/09/2022 in the prescribed time limit. The copy of the said Audit Report and the fact of filing the same on 25/09/2022, was also filed before us, quite contrary to the above, the Revenue has urged that the same was filed on 12/10/2022. It is also the case of the Revenue the last date of the filing of the Audit Report was exceeded upto 07/10/2022 and since the Audit Report has been filed after 07/10/2022 i.e 12/10/2022 therefore the assessee is not entitled for relief. We have perused documents filed by the Revenue as well as the assessee, in our considered opinion the Audit Report was duly 5 uploaded under the signature of Shri Ashwani Kalia CA on 25/09/2022 .The same CA/AR is also presenting the assessee before us and he had made categorical submission during the course of hearing that the audit report was duly uploaded on the portal of the revenue on 25 September 2022 by him and therefore it was filed within the time prescribed by the central board of direct taxes . We do not find any reason to disbelieve the statement given at Bar by Mr. Ashish Kalia which is duly supported by the evidence of uploading Form 10B timely on 25/09/2022. In the present case the audit report was filed within the time prescribed by the act and therefore in our considered opinion the assessee is entitled to the relief claimed by it. We do not find any infirmity in the order passed by the Ld. CIT(A) and therefore we upheld the order passed by the Ld. CIT(A). 8.1 In the light of above we are of the considered view that there is no substance in appeal of the revenue and accordingly the order passed by the Ld CIT(A) is upheld and the appeal of the Revenue is dismissed. 9. In the result, appeal filed by the Revenue is dismissed. Order pronounced in the open Court on 10/03/2025. Sd/- Sd/- क ृणवȶ सहाय लिलत क ुमार (KRINWANT SAHAY) (LALIET KUMAR) लेखा सद˟/ ACCOUNTANT MEMBER Ɋाियक सद˟ /JUDICIAL MEMBER AG आदेश की Ůितिलिप अŤेिषत/ Copy of the order forwarded to : 1. अपीलाथŎ/ The Appellant 2. ŮȑथŎ/ The Respondent 3. आयकर आयुƅ/ CIT 4. आयकर आयुƅ (अपील)/ The CIT(A) 5. िवभागीय Ůितिनिध, आयकर अपीलीय आिधकरण, चǷीगढ़/ DR, ITAT, CHANDIGARH 6. गाडŊ फाईल/ Guard File आदेशानुसार/ By order, सहायक पंजीकार/ Assistant Registrar "