Lions Club Ashoknagar Charitable Trust Vs CIT (Karnataka High Court)
Karnataka High Court Condones 44-Day Delay in Filing Form 10B; Rejects Hyper-Technical Approach
The Karnataka High Court allowed the writ petition filed by Lions Club Ashoknagar Charitable Trust, setting aside the order passed under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act which had refused to condone a 44-day delay in filing Form 10B for AY 2020-21.
The Court observed that the Trust’s delay was occasioned by procedural requirements following grant of registration under Section 12AA, including the necessity of an “Order Giving Effect”, and was not due to any mala fide intent or negligence. It held that such circumstances constituted “genuine hardship”, as contemplated under CBDT Circular No. 9/2015 dated 09.06.2015.
Criticising the Revenue for adopting a hyper-technical and rigid approach, the Court reiterated that powers under Section 119(2)(b) must be exercised in a justice-oriented and pragmatic manner, particularly in the case of charitable trusts, where denial of exemption on mere procedural lapses defeats the object of the statute.
Accordingly, the Court condoned the delay, quashed the impugned rejection order, and directed the Department to accept Form 10B and proceed further in accordance with law, while reserving liberty to verify the claim on merits. The ruling reinforces that substantive charitable benefits cannot be denied for minor procedural delays.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KARNATAKA HIGH COURT
In this petition, petitioner seeks quashing of the impugned order at Annexure – A dated 17.04.2025 passed by the respondent No.1, whereby the application filed by the petitioner under Section 119(2)(b) seeking condonation of delay of 44 days in filing Form 10B in relation to the Assessment Year 2020-21 was rejected by respondent No.1.
