Jain Dehrasar Upasraya ane Sadharan Vs CIT (Exemption) (Gujarat High Court)
The petitioner, a charitable trust registered under the Gujarat Public Trusts Act, 1950 and engaged in religious and charitable activities for over 45 years, filed a writ petition challenging the order dated 31.01.2024 passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), which rejected its application for condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2021–22. The petitioner sought condonation of delay in approving Form 10B and consequential allowance of exemption under Section 11 amounting to Rs. 7,84,608.
For A.Y. 2021–22, the audit report in Form 10B was uploaded by the auditor on 21.12.2021 within the prescribed due date, and the return of income was filed on 28.01.2022 claiming exemption. However, the audit report was accepted by the petitioner on 29.03.2022, resulting in a delay of 42 days in its acceptance. Initially, the return was processed under Section 143(1) accepting the declared income. Subsequently, a rectification order under Section 154 disallowed the exemption, citing issues related to Form 10B and registration requirements.
The petitioner filed an application for condonation of delay explaining that there was no delay in filing the audit report, but only a minor delay in its acceptance due to technical reasons. It was also contended that the disallowance was based on inconsistent grounds, particularly regarding registration under amended provisions which were not applicable for the relevant assessment year.
