Vittal Nayak Ullal Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
Bengaluru ITAT Condoned 1,540-Day Delay and Allowed Full Exemption of BSNL VRS Compensation Under Section 10(10B)
The Bengaluru ITAT condoned a 1,540-day delay in filing the appeal, holding that the delay was attributable to the assessee’s limited knowledge of tax laws, incorrect professional advice, and reliance on the employer’s Form 16, and that several coordinate benches had condoned similar delays in identical BSNL VRS cases. On merits, the Tribunal held that the entire compensation of ₹12.64 lakh received under the BSNL Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2019 was fully exempt under section 10(10B) and not merely to the extent of ₹5 lakh under section 10(10C). It observed that the BSNL VRS, 2019 was an integral part of the Government-approved revival and restructuring plan for BSNL, implemented through the Department of Telecommunications with full Central Government funding, and was in substance a government-directed retrenchment exercise rather than a voluntary retirement scheme. Relying on numerous coordinate bench decisions and the Kerala High Court’s ruling that BSNL employees are to be treated as Government servants for this purpose, the Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to grant exemption of the entire retrenchment compensation under section 10(10B). The assessee’s appeal was accordingly allowed.
