Senior Citizen Council Gandhinagar Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Ahmedabad)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Ahmedabad Bench has reversed and remanded the rejection of an application for 80G approval filed by Senior Citizen Council Gandhinagar. The appeal contested the order dated August 20, 2024, issued by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) [CIT(E)], Ahmedabad, which had rejected the application under Section 80G(5)(iv) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The appeal, filed by the assessee, faced a delay of 109 days. The Senior Citizen Council Gandhinagar submitted an affidavit attributing the delay to their lack of familiarity with income tax procedures and litigation, stating that neither the council nor its trustees had previous experience in such matters. The affidavit explained that the assessee encountered difficulty in operating and logging into the Income Tax portal. It was only in January 2025 that the council became aware of the rejection, reportedly through other trustees of a similar trust who had faced a similar issue with their 12A/80G approvals. Upon verifying the status of their own 80G(5)(iv) approval, they discovered its rejection. Subsequently, legal counsel was sought, leading to the filing of the present appeal, resulting in the 109-day delay. The assessee asserted that the delay was unintentional and lacked mala fide intent. The CIT-DR submitted that the condonation of delay should be decided on its merits. The Tribunal, after considering the explanation, condoned the delay in filing the appeal.
