Deendayal Seva Pratishthan Vs ITO (ITAT Nagpur)
Summary: The case of Deendayal Seva Pratishthan vs. ITO revolves around the assessment of the trust’s taxable income for AY 2020-21. The trust, engaged in charitable activities supporting tribal families and farmers’ dependents, faced an addition of ₹62,17,949 by the Assessing Officer due to disallowance of depreciation. Although the trust had initially filed Form 9A within the due date, it later revised the form to reflect an increased income carry-forward from ₹14 lakh to ₹1 crore. However, procedural constraints prevented the electronic submission of the revised Form 9A, and attempts to submit it physically to the jurisdictional AO also failed. The Assessing Officer, citing non-cognizance of the revised form, upheld the addition. On appeal, the CIT(A) dismissed the trust’s contentions, stating that it should have filed a revised return of income instead of attempting to revise Form 9A separately. The CIT(A) noted that the trust did not utilize the extended deadline for revising its return and suggested that the revision attempt was an afterthought to rectify the erroneous depreciation claim. Furthermore, reference to case laws and a CBDT circular on condonation of delay was deemed irrelevant, as the issue pertained to the revision of Form 9A rather than a delay in filing. Consequently, the addition made by the AO was sustained. Upon further appeal, ITAT Nagpur found merit in the trust’s argument that the revised Form 9A was filed before the assessment was completed. The Tribunal noted that neither the AO nor CIT(A) adequately examined the impact of the revised form on the taxable income computation. In the interest of justice, ITAT set aside the CIT(A) order and remanded the matter to the jurisdictional AO for a fresh adjudication, directing a re-examination of the revised Form 9A.
Facts of the Case:
