Ganadhipati Gandharacharya Kuntiusagar Vidya Sodh Sansthan Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
The Pune Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) decided a group of four appeals filed by a charitable trust for assessment years (AYs) 2018-19 to 2021-22. The appeals arose from separate intimation orders passed under section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the subsequent appellate orders of the Additional/Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). The common dispute across all years related to denial of exemption under section 11 of the Act on the ground of belated filing of returns and audit reports, and the consequential taxation of gross receipts or application of incorrect tax rates.
For AY 2019-20, the assessee filed its return of income on 31 March 2020 against the due date of 31 August 2019. The audit report in Form 10B was filed on 22 March 2020, prior to the processing of the return. The Centralised Processing Centre (CPC)/Assessing Officer issued the intimation under section 143(1) on 21 October 2020, denying exemption under section 11 and making additions. Similar factual patterns existed for AY 2020-21 and AY 2021-22. For AY 2020-21, the return was filed on 31 March 2021 against the due date of 15 February 2021, with Form 10B also filed on 31 March 2021, while the intimation was issued on 25 November 2021. For AY 2021-22, the return and Form 10B were both filed on 31 March 2022, before the CPC issued intimation on 23 August 2022.
