FIVD India Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Vs DCIT (ITAT Delhi)
ITAT Delhi Order on Deduction u/s 80IAC – Whether Delay in Filing Form 10CCB Is Fatal to Substantive Benefits
Scope of Amendment to Section 80IA(7) – ITAT Delhi
I. Key Issue
The central question before the Tribunal was whether a start-up claiming deduction under section 80IAC could be denied the benefit solely because Form 10CCB was not filed before the “specified date” referred to in section 44AB, even though:
- the audit was completed on time,
- Form 10CCB was duly signed before the specified date, and
- the form was uploaded before completion of assessment.
The CPC and CIT(A) rejected the claim on the ground that the audit report was not furnished by 31 October 2023, the “specified date” under section 44AB for AY 2023-24.
II. Statutory Framework
1. Deduction u/s 80IAC
Eligible start-ups must satisfy the conditions prescribed under:
- Section 80IAC(1),
- Section 80IAC(3), and
- Section 80IAC(4).
2. Mandatory Audit Requirement – Section 80IA(7)
Post–Finance Act 2020, an assessee must:
- get the accounts audited before the specified date u/s 44AB, and
- furnish the audit report by that date in the prescribed form (Form 10CCB).
3. Nature of Amendment (Finance Act 2020)
The 2020 amendment:
- shifted the timeline for filing the audit report (from “along with return” to “before the specified date”),
- but did not alter the substantive requirement that a valid audit report must exist.
The core issue was whether failure to upload the report before the specified date is substantive (fatal) or procedural (curable).
