Case Law (HC) -- Exemption u/s 11(1) and (2) cannot be denied on only on the ground that audit report was not filed along with return if same was filed at a later stage and was available with AO when he processed return u/s 143(1), the requirement of law was satisfied.

 

Association of Indian Panel board Manufacturer v. DCIT [2023:GUJHC:27028-DB)]

"5.6 The tribunal further committed an error in appreciating the import of Section 119 2(b) of the Act inasmuch as the application contemplated thereunder is only additional remedy for the assessee which could not be said to be compulsorily resorted to by the assessee. The circular No.7/18 dated 20.12.2018 issued under Section 119 of the Act could not be, therefore said to have taken away the appellate remedy.

5.7 The tribunal misdirected itself in yet another way when it observed that The Finance Act, 2015 with effect from 1.4.2016, that is from assessment year 2016-17 changed the legal position. There is no such change which could be said to have altered the legal position. The only change is with regard to compulsory filing of audit report in Form 10B in electronically form which is made mandatory under Rule 12 (2) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 but there is no change with regard to the substantive law about filing of audit report as stated above.

6. The moot aspect thus centres around to the requirement of the availability of the audit report when the assessment was undertaken by the Assessing Officer even though the same may not have been filed along with the return of income. Filing of audit report is held to be substantive requirement but not the mode and stage of filing, which is procedural. Once the audit report in Form 12B is filed to be available with the Assessing Officer, before assessment proceedings take place, the requirement of law is satisfied. In that view, the Income Tax Tribunal was not justified in dismissing the appeal of the assessee.

6.1 The appellant assessee has to be held to be eligible and entitled to exemptions under Section 11(1) and 11(2) of the Act and the alleged ground of non-filing of audit report alongwith return of income which was at the best procedural omission, could never to an impediment in law in claiming the exemption."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Case law (SC) -- SLP dismissed against order of High Court where notice u/s 148 was quashed stating that notice u/s 148 must comply with the Faceless Scheme regardless of the Assessee being a NRI/Indian Citizen.

Case law (SC) - Once the Resolution Plan is approved by the NCLT, All the dues including the statutory dues owed to the Central Government, if not a part of the Resolution Plan, shall stand extinguished and no proceedings could be continued in respect of such dues for the period prior to the date on which the adjudicating authority grants its approval under Section 31 of the IB Code.

Case Law (SC) - Where an assessee is entitled to deduction u/s 80HHC as well as 80IA, the deductions have to be computed separately, but the total deduction shall be restricted to gross total income computed under section 80IA.