Kabirpanthi Gadi Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Form 9A Was Late, but Justice Need Not Be: Ahmedabad ITAT Condoned 1,876-Day Delay & Revived ₹2.01-Crore Exemption Claim u/ss 11(1) & 249(3)
Return & Form 9A Filed Belatedly
The assessee was a charitable trust. Its return for AY 2019-20 was filed belatedly u/s 139(4) on 23.06.2020. Form 9A, by which the trust exercised its option regarding deemed application of income under clause (2) of Explanation 1 to s.11(1), was also filed on the same date along with the return.
The assessee explained that the trustees were very old & that its accountant was also an elderly person suffering from health problems. The accountant was affected during the Covid period & was unable to complete the accounts, audit & return-filing work within the prescribed time.
The CPC processed the return & issued an intimation u/s 143(1) on 26.08.2020. It denied the trust’s exemption relating to deemed application of income solely because Form 9A had not been furnished within the due date prescribed u/s 139(1). This resulted in a substantial disallowance of ₹2,01,00,000.
Appeal Filed Nearly Five Years Later
The assessee challenged the intimation before the NFAC only on 14.11.2025. There was thus a delay of 1,876 days, or slightly more than five years, in filing the first appeal.
