Tata International Limited Provident Fund Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
The appeal was filed by the assessee, Tata International Limited Provident Fund, against the order of the Ld. CIT(A) pertaining to an Intimation under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for the Assessment Year (A.Y.) 2022-23. The core issue was the denial of exemption under Section 10(25)(ii), which exempts the income of a recognized Provident Fund Trust, solely because the assessee filed its Return of Income (ROI) in Form ITR-7 instead of the correct Form ITR-5.
The Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) denied the exemption during the processing of the return under Section 143(1). The assessee argued before the CIT(A) that the liability to be taxed should not be decided based on the form used, and that filing the wrong form was a bona fide error. The CIT(A) rejected this contention, observing that the correct ITR Form is essential for assessing income as per law. The CIT(A) also noted that the assessee had used ITR-7 in multiple preceding years, which undermined the claim of a bona fide error, and dismissed reliance on a prior appellate order for A.Y. 2017-18 because that order did not specifically discuss the issue of filing the wrong form. Consequently, the CIT(A) upheld the CPC’s denial of the exemption.
