Vipul Chandrakant Sawalwade Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
In a recent ruling, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Pune has delivered a significant decision concerning the admissibility of Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) even when Form 67, a crucial document for claiming such credit, is filed belatedly. The Tribunal also addressed the applicable tax rate for dividend income received from a US-based company, emphasizing the primacy of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) over domestic tax rates.
The case, Vipul Chandrakant Sawalwade Vs. ITO, involved an individual assessee for the Assessment Year 2021-22. The assessee had filed their income-tax return on November 14, 2022, claiming an FTC of Rs. 2,15,252/-. However, Form 67, which supports this claim, was filed on July 24, 2022, after the due date for filing the return under Section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (March 15, 2022). Consequently, the CPC (Centralized Processing Centre) denied the FTC solely on the grounds of this delay. This decision was subsequently upheld by the Addl/JCIT(A).
The assessee, aggrieved by these decisions, brought the matter before the ITAT Pune. Their primary contention was that the requirement to file Form 67 within the stipulated due date is directory, not mandatory. This argument was supported by multiple judicial precedents.
