Lunidhar Seva Sahkari Mandali Ltd. Vs Assessing Officer (CPC) (ITAT Rajkot)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Rajkot Bench, has ruled in favor of Lunidhar Seva Sahkari Mandali Ltd., a co-operative society, allowing its claim for deduction under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act, 1961, despite the belated filing of its income tax return for Assessment Year 2019-20. The decision overturns the previous adjustments made by the Central Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru, and upheld by the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi.
The case centered on the denial of a Rs. 2,22,704 deduction claimed by the co-operative society under Section 80P. The society had filed its return of income on November 30, 2020, declaring a total income of Nil. The CPC subsequently issued an intimation under Section 143(1)(a) of the Act, disallowing the 80P deduction on the grounds that the return was not filed within the due date prescribed under Section 139(1) of the Act.
The Commissioner (Appeals) had upheld the CPC’s action, citing an amendment to Section 80AC of the Act. This amendment, introduced in the Finance Bill 2018, aimed to ensure that deductions under Chapter VIA (including Section 80P) are not allowed if the income-tax return is not filed by the due date specified under Section 139(1). The Commissioner (Appeals) concluded that in view of this amendment, the denial of the Section 80P deduction was justified as the return was filed beyond the due date.
