Ramesh Shankarrao Wagh Vs Jurisdictional Officer (ITAT Pune)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Pune Bench has remitted the case of Ramesh Shankarrao Wagh back to the Assessing Officer for a fresh assessment regarding a claim for special tax rates on patent income under Section 115BBF of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The assessee’s appeal challenged the initial disallowance of this benefit due to the belated filing of Form 3CFA.
The dispute arose after the Centralised Processing Center (CPC) processed Wagh’s return for Assessment Year 2020-21, denying the Section 115BBF claim because Form 3CFA was not submitted with the original return of income. The form, crucial for availing the special tax rate, was subsequently filed electronically on July 4, 2023, after the initial order under Section 143(1) but before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] passed their order.
Wagh’s legal representative argued that the non-filing of Form 3CFA along with the return was a procedural error and that the claim should be allowed as the form was eventually submitted. Several judicial precedents were cited, including ACIT vs. Pankaj Kailash Agarwal (SC) and Penang Enterprises (P.) Ltd. vs. CBDT (Bombay), among others, to support the contention that procedural omissions should not override substantive claims when compliance occurs later.
