Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Education Trust Vs CIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Delhi)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi, dealt with two connected appeals involving the same assessee. One appeal related to rejection of an application under section 12AB(1)(b)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, while the other concerned rejection of approval under section 80G(5). Since both matters were interconnected, they were decided through a common order.
The Tribunal noted that, in the proceedings relating to section 12AB, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) had granted several opportunities of hearing, but these were allegedly not availed of by the assessee. Consequently, the application under section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) was rejected mainly on the ground of non-pursuance. Similarly, the application for approval under section 80G(5) was rejected on the grounds of non-pursuance and because the section 12AB application had already been rejected.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee contended that adequate opportunity had not been provided and that detailed replies had been filed but were not considered. The Tribunal observed that the impugned orders did not clearly indicate whether any replies had been filed or whether there had been compliance by the assessee. In the interest of substantive justice, ITAT set aside both orders and remitted the matters back to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) for fresh adjudication. Accordingly, both appeals were allowed for statistical purposes.
