Tirupur Vision Rotary Trust Vs ACIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Chennai)
Exemption Under Section 11 & 12 Not to Be Denied Merely for Late Form 10B – Matter Sent Back- Corpus Donations & 11/12 Benefits to be Re-Examined
The dispute concerned denial of exemption on corpus donations & disallowance of benefits u/ss 11 & 12 due to late filing of audit report.
The Trust filed return at Nil after claiming exemption of ₹12,84,457. CPC, while processing u/s 143(1), disallowed corpus donations of ₹29,57,595 & denied exemption u/ss 11 & 12, citing delay in filing Form 10B. The Addl. CIT(A) upheld the adjustment.
Before ITAT, the Trust argued that:
- CPC made corpus donation adjustment without giving opportunity.
- For delay in filing audit report, a petition u/s 119(2)(b) seeking condonation was already filed before CCIT, Coimbatore, & was pending.
Tribunal held that CPC erred in making disallowance without hearing the assessee. Further, since condonation petition was pending, exemption claim u/ss 11 & 12 must be re-examined after outcome of CCIT’s decision.
Accordingly, ITAT set aside orders of CPC & Addl. CIT(A) and restored matter to AO for fresh adjudication after granting opportunity to Trust & considering the condonation petition. Thus, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
