Nav Chetna Charitable Trust Vs CIT (Exemption) (Bombay High Court)
Bombay High Court held that delay in filing Form 9A being completely bona fide is condonable under the umbrella of section 119 (2)(b) of the Income Tax Act. Accordingly, delay condoned.
Facts- The petitioner is a registered trust. The issue involved herein is with regard to belated filing of Form 9A. According to the petitioner, it was able to file the said Form 9A only on 20 December 2019 due to change in procedure, from manual to electronic filing which was the main reason for such delay. In this regard, the petitioner was guided by Central Board of Direct Taxes (“ CBDT” for short) Circular No. 7 of 2018, dated 20 December 2018 for the A.Y. 2016-2017 issued under Section 119(2)(b) of the IT Act. The said provision empowers the Commissioner to admit belated application for condonation of delay in filing Form 9A and decide such application on merits, in situations where the assessee was prevented by reasonable cause from filing such applications in Form 9A and Form 10, within the stipulated time.
Conclusion- Held that there is undoubtedly a delay in filing Form 9A on part of the petitioner, however, as observed by us above, such delay appears to be completely bona fide. The principles which are paramount and jurisprudentially accepted in the case of Jyotsna Mehta in our opinion mandates their application in the present facts in condoning delay under the umbrella of section 119 (2)(b) of the IT Act.
