Dhaban Gram Sewa Sahakari Samity Vs ITO (ITAT Jodhpur)
CPC cannot deny 80P deduction on belated return prior to AY 2021-22- Addition quashed : ITAT Jodhpur
Jodhpur ITAT has held that the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru, was not empowered to disallow deduction claimed u/s 80P at the stage of processing u/s 143(1) for Assessment Year 2018-19, even though the return of income was filed belatedly.
Assessee, a co-operative society engaged in trading fertilizers & pesticides to its members, had filed its return of income for the relevant year on 12.11.2018, i.e. with a delay of forty-three days beyond the due date of 30.09.2018 prescribed u/s 139(1). In the return, it claimed deduction of ₹3,73,110/- u/s 80P(2)(iv). While processing the return u/s 143(1), CPC rejected the deduction on the ground of contravention of section 80AC , which, as amended by the Finance Act, 2018, provides that no deduction under Chapter VI-A shall be allowed if the return of income is not filed within the due date prescribed. Consequently, CPC added back the surplus income. Order of CPC was upheld by the CIT(A).
Before Tribunal, it was argued that CPC had exceeded its jurisdiction in making such an adjustment at the stage of processing, since the scope of section 143(1)(a) is limited to arithmetical mistakes & incorrect claims apparent from the record & disallowance of deductions on account of belated filing was not permissible under the law applicable to the relevant year.
