Kumar Gaurav Sharma Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
FTC Cannot Be Denied for Delay in Form 67: Directory, Not Mandatory- Form 67 Filed Before 143(1) Processing — Pune ITAT Orders FTC Allowance
Pune Tribunal dealt with denial of FTC of Rs.8,57,902 by CPC on ground that Form 67 was filed after due date u/s 139(1). Assessee, employed with Amazon India & later Amazon USA, offered global salary to tax & filed Form 67 on 26.02.2020, before filing ROI on 20.03.2020. AO processed return u/s 143(1) on 25.02.2021 but denied FTC citing late Form 67; rectification u/s 154 was also rejected. Addl./JCIT(A) upheld denial.
Tribunal noted that Form 67 was on record much before processing u/s 143(1) & relied on Madras HC decision in Duraiswamy Kumaraswamy holding filing of Form 67 as directory, not mandatory. Tribunal also followed consistent Pune Bench precedents (Samiran Dutta, Deelip Chawla, Rameshwar Bandewar, Nandkumar Chandra, Sandeep Jadhav). Tribunal held that when Form 67 is available before processing u/s 143(1), denial of FTC is unjustified. Order of Addl./JCIT(A) was set aside & AO was directed to grant FTC after verification. Appeal partly allowed; delay of 3 days was condoned based on sufficient cause.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT PUNE
