Prathibha Jagdish Unawane Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
The appeals concerned assessees who were employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and received compensation under the BSNL Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2019. The Union Cabinet approved the BSNL and MTNL revival plan on 23.10.2019, followed by an Office Memorandum dated 29.10.2019 issued by the Department of Telecommunications. As part of the revival package, workforce reduction was undertaken through the BSNL VRS 2019 for employees aged 50 years and above, against which ex-gratia compensation was paid.
The assessees had originally offered the compensation to tax after claiming exemption of Rs.5 lakh under Section 10(10C) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and paid tax on the balance where applicable. The claim that the entire compensation was a capital receipt exempt under Section 10(10B) was raised for the first time before the CIT(A). In some cases, the CIT(A) dismissed appeals due to delay, while in others the new claim was not entertained on the ground that it should have been made through a revised return.
The assessees relied on several Tribunal and Court decisions concerning BSNL employees and submitted that exemption under Section 10(10B) had consistently been allowed in similar cases. They also justified the delays in filing appeals by referring to the professional advice received when the original returns were filed.
