2023 (3) TMI 1461 - AT - Income Tax

Exemption u/s 11 - claim denied as return of income was not filed within the due date for filing the return of income - before assesee before the NFAC stated that the return of income could not be filed within the due date prescribed u/s 139(4A) for the reasons beyond the control of the appellant society - HELD THAT - There is no dispute that the return of income for the year under consideration was filed by the appellant society beyond the due date for filing the return of income u/s 139(4A) of the Act i.e. on 31.10.2019. The provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 had not conferred any discretion on the assessing authority or the appellant authority to condone the delay in filing the return of income. The provisions of section 12A(ba) provides that the exemption u/s 11 can be availed only if the return of income was filed in the manner prescribed under the provisions of section 139(4A) of the Act which in turn requires that an assessee claiming exemption of income u/s 11 to file the return of income within the due date prescribed u/s 139(1) of the Act. In the absence of any discretionary power neither the assessing authority nor the appellate authority can relax the provisions of the Statute. Therefore, this is a clearly inadmissible claim as defined under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of section 143(1), the CPC was justified in denying the claim for exemption u/s 11, while processing the return of income u/s 143(1) of the Act. Therefore, we do not find any merits in the appeal filed by the assessee.

Summary

Issues:
The appeal involves the denial of exemption under section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 due to the late filing of the return of income by the appellant trust.

Summary:
The appellant, a Trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1951, and under section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, filed its Return of Income for the assessment year 2019-20 after the due date. An intimation u/s 143(1) was issued denying the exemption u/s 11 as the return was not filed within the prescribed due date. The appellant appealed to the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), which upheld the denial. The appellant then appealed to the Appellate Tribunal.

At the Tribunal, despite due notice, no one appeared on behalf of the appellant. The Senior DR argued that to claim exemption u/s 11, the return must be filed as per section 139(4A) of the Act, which was not done in this case. The Tribunal noted that the CPC denied the exemption solely based on the late filing of the return, as required by section 12A(ba) of the Act. The provisions did not allow for discretion to condone the delay in filing. As per section 12A(ba), exemption u/s 11 can only be claimed if the return is filed within the due date prescribed u/s 139(1) of the Act. Since there was no discretionary power to relax the statutory provisions, the Tribunal found the claim for exemption to be inadmissible. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the denial of exemption u/s 11.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the decision to deny the exemption under section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, due to the untimely filing of the return of income by the appellant trust.