Premprakash Ashram Trust Vs ITO (Exemption) (ITAT Surat)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Surat Bench, has ruled in favor of Premprakash Ashram Trust, a charitable organization, in an appeal against an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] for the assessment year 2018-19. The Tribunal’s decision primarily addressed the disallowance of exemption claimed under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which was denied by the Central Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru, due to the belated filing of the audit report in Form 10B.
The ITAT overturned the lower authorities’ decision, directing the Assessing Officer (AO) to reconsider the trust’s claim, emphasizing that the requirement to upload Form 10B is a procedural compliance that should not be strictly construed as mandatory, especially when the audit report was prepared on time and subsequently uploaded.
Background of the Dispute: Delayed Form 10B Filing
Premprakash Ashram Trust, registered under Section 12A/12AB of the Income Tax Act, is a recognized entity eligible for application of income under Section 11 of the Act for charitable and religious purposes. For the assessment year 2018-19, the trust filed its return of income on August 29, 2018, well within the statutory deadline under Section 139(1). In its return, the trust claimed application of income under Section 11/12.
