Howrah Heritage Society and Anr. Vs Union of India & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court disposed of a writ petition filed by a charitable trust registered under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, concerning non-disposal of its application dated 27.01.2026 seeking condonation of delay in filing Form 10B for Assessment Year 2024-25. The petitioner submitted that due to an inadvertent mistake by its Chartered Accountant, the audit report was filed in Form 10BB instead of the mandatory Form 10B applicable to charitable trusts claiming exemption under Section 12A. An application seeking rectification and condonation of delay was subsequently filed before the competent authority.
The petitioner relied upon CBDT Circular No. 2/2020 dated 03.01.2020 relating to condonation of delay in filing Form 10B. The respondents contended that the said circular had been superseded by Circular No. 16/2024 dated 18.11.2024, which provided that condonation applications should, as far as possible, be disposed of within six months from the end of the month in which such application is received. The respondents further argued that the writ petition was premature since the application had been received on 28.01.2026 and the prescribed period for disposal had not expired.
After considering the submissions, the Court observed that the petitioner was a charitable trust registered under Section 12A and that exemption under Section 12A constituted a substantive right. The Court held that a procedural lapse in filing the audit report in Form 10BB instead of Form 10B could not, by itself, defeat such substantive entitlement, relying on the decision in CIT vs Rajasthan and Gujarat Charitable Foundation reported at (2018) 14 SCC 348.
