St. Thomas High School Vs CIT (Exemption) (Bombay High Court)
Bombay High Court held that denial of exemption under section 11 of the Income Tax Act for delay of mere 29 days in filing of Form No. 10B is not justifiable since denial of exemption is likely to cause genuine hardship to the Charitable Trust. Accordingly, impugned order quashed and delay condoned.
Facts- The Petitioner is a Charitable Trust established for education purpose and is registered as a Public Charitable Trust under the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trust Act, 1950. The present Writ Petition challenges the impugned order dated 30th January 2025, passed by Respondent No.1 for the Assessment Year 2022-23 u/s. 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 rejecting the Petitioner’s application dated 16th March 2023 filed for condonation of delay of 29 days. By the impugned order, Respondent No.1 has refused to condone the delay in filing Form No. 10B for A.Y. 2022-23. Consequently, the exemption claimed by the Petitioner u/s. 11 of the Act has been denied to the Petitioner which is a Charitable Trust.
Conclusion- Held that admittedly, there was only a 29 day delay in filing Form No. 10B. In the present case, when one considers that Respondent No.1 never doubted the factual situation put forth by the Petitioner to explain the delay, Respondent No.1 ought to have condoned the delay. We find that if this delay is not condoned, there will be genuine hardship to the Petitioner, inasmuch as, the Petitioner would be denied the exemption otherwise claimed under the provisions of Section 11 of the Act and which is a substantial amount.
