CIT (Exemptions) Vs Manav Vikas Bahuuddeshiya Gramin Seva Sanstha (Supreme Court of India)
In CIT (Exemptions) Vs Manav Vikas Bahuuddeshiya Gramin Seva Sanstha read with Manav Vikas Bahuuddeshiya Gramin Seva Sanstha Vs CIT (Exemptions), the Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition filed against the Bombay High Court order which had condoned a delay of 687 days in filing audit report in Form 10B for accounting years 2016-17. The Supreme Court, while condoning delay in filing the petition, stated that it was not inclined to interfere with the impugned order in exercise of powers under Article 136 of the Constitution and accordingly dismissed the petition.
The Bombay High Court had examined the rejection of condonation under Section 119(b) of the Income Tax Act. The trust explained that its Chartered Accountant was unaware of the newly introduced online filing system and the delay was unintentional and due to oversight. The High Court observed that the audit report had already been filed on 18.08.2018 and held that refusal to condone the delay would result in non-consideration of exemption claims. Considering the explanation to be honest, the nature of activities undertaken by the trust, and relying on an earlier decision, the High Court quashed the rejection order and condoned the delay, subject to payment of Rs.10,000 as costs to Raman Science Centre and Planetarium, Nagpur.
