Institute of Actuaries of India Vs CIT (Bombay High Court)
The petitioner, a charitable educational institution, filed its income tax return on 30 October 2018 declaring NIL income after claiming exemptions under Sections 11 and 10(23C)(vi) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, amounting to ₹17.66 crore. The audit report in Form 10BB was uploaded on 27 October 2018—before the due date of 31 October 2018—but was verified on the e-filing portal only on 19 January 2019. The delay of 81 days occurred because the Chartered Accountant failed to instruct the authorized signatory to complete the verification process in time.
Subsequently, the Centralized Processing Centre issued an intimation under Section 143(1) on 26 February 2020, disallowing the exemption claims and raising a tax demand of ₹7.71 crore. The petitioner’s rectification request was rejected, and its appeal before the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) remained pending. The petitioner also applied to the Principal Commissioner under Section 119(2)(b) seeking condonation of delay, which was denied on 25 February 2025 on the ground of negligence and lack of due diligence.
The High Court observed that the delay was neither deliberate nor due to neglect but arose from an inadvertent mistake by the auditor. It noted that the Form 10BB had been uploaded before the statutory due date, and only the verification was delayed. The Court held that refusing condonation in such circumstances would result in grave hardship and frustrate the intent of charitable exemption provisions.
