Bal Sewa Ashram (Orphanage) vs Income Tax Officer(E)

Per Satbeer Singh Godara, Judicial Member:

This assessee’s appeal for Assessment Year 2015-16, arises against the C IT(A)/NFAC, Delhi’s DIN & order No. ITBA/NFAC/S/250/2024-25/1071355215(1) dated 19.12.2024, in proceedings u/s 154 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short “the Act”).

Heard both the parties at length. Case file perused.

It transpires dur ing the course of hearing that both the learned lower authorities have refused section 11 exemption to the assessee for the sole reason that it had failed to file/upload it’s correspo nding Form 10 tax audit report within the prescribed due date, in the Assessing Officer’s section 154 rectification order dated 05.08.2020 as upheld in the lower appellate discussion.

The Revenue vehemently argues in this factual backdrop that the assessee’s foregoing co mpliance of filing/uploading it’s Form 10 tax audit report is very much a mandatory provision; and, therefore, we ought to uphold the same. Learned departmental representative co uld hardly dispute that various recent judicial precedents i.e. CIT Vs. Xavier Ke lavani Mandal (P.) Ltd. (2014) 41 taxmann.com 184 (Guj.) have already settled in the assessee’s favour and against the department that the above compliance of filing/uploading of Form 10 is a directory provision only. This is indeed coupled with the fact that the assessee had duly filed/uploaded the above For m 10 online on e-filing portal on 26.06.2017 as per the learned Assessing Officer rectification order date d 05.08.2020. We thus find merit in the assessee’s instant sole substantive ground and direct the lear ned Asse ssing Officer to finalize his consequential computation afresh as per law in very terms.

This assessee’s appeal is allowed.