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TMI Blog2015 (3) TMI 579X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction 143(3) of the Income-tax Act without allowing the deduction claimed by the assessee. The assessee preferred an appeal which was dis missed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). Under section 80-IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, the amount of deduction in the case of an undertaking engaged in developing and building housing projects, approved before March 31, 2008, by a local authority, shall be 100 per cent. of the profits derived in the previous year. The allowability of the aforesaid deduction is, however, subject to the following important preconditions : "Where in computing the total income of an assessee of the previous year 2006 or any subsequent assessment year, any deduction is admissible under section 80-IA or section 80-IAB or section 80-IB or section 80-IC (or section 80-ID or section 80-IE), no such deduction shall be allowed to him unless he furnishes a return of his income for such assessment year on or before the due date specified under sub- section (1) of section 139." Due date has been specified under section 139(1) Explanation 2 of the Income-tax Act which provides that in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uddenly resigned her job in the second week of October, 2009, and left Siliguri." Mrs. Bhargava, learned advocate appearing in support of the appeal, submitted that the learned Tribunal misdirected itself in trying to find out whether the assessee was negligent or there was sufficient reason which prevented the assessee from filing the return in time or within the due date. She submitted that this question can be gone into in those cases where the statute has left any scope for discretion. Section 80AC of the Income-tax Act, she added, is very specific. In case the assessee wanted to avail of himself of the benefit of the deduction under section 80-IB(10) of the Income-tax Act the return must have been filed on or before the due date. When the return was admittedly not filed on or before the due date, the consequence is that the assessee is no longer entitled to take the advantage of the deduction. She submitted that the learned Tribunal unnecessarily embarked upon an enquiry as to whether there was any negligence. She added that time to file the return expired on 30th September. Even, according to the case of the assessee, the lady left the office of the assessee in the second we ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... question arose whether the benefit of section 15 of the Bihar Sales tax Act, 1959, by which rebate of one per cent. is available to the assessee could be claimed when the return was not filed within the prescribed time frame or within the extended time. Their Lordships answered the question as follows : "The return was admittedly not filed within the time prescribed under section 14(1). Has it been filed, then, within the extended period ? In answering this question, certain features of the Act have to be kept in mind. The first is that the Act does not set out any particular procedure for obtaining extension of time. It does not prescribe any form of application. It does not say that such application must be filed before the expiry of the prescribed period. It does not require that the prescribed authority must pass an order recording his satisfaction that the time should be extended and granting time. The second is that, under the provisions of the Act three consequences are envisaged where a return is not filed within the prescribed time or extended time : ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the section and not to frustrate it." Mr. Khaitan contended that 100 per cent. deduction permitted under section 80-IB(10) of the Income-tax Act is with the laudable object of promoting housing projects which is likely to be frustrated if the deductions are to be denied for lack of a ministerial job in time. We are unable to accept this submission. It is also not possible for us to hold that any liberal construction is appropriate in the facts of this case. The fourth judgment cited by Mr. Khaitan is in the case of CIT v. Berger Paints (India) Ltd. The question arose, whether the deductions under section 32AB and under section 80HHC of the Income-tax Act not permissible in a case where the audit report in the prescribed form duly signed and verified by the accountant was not submitted along with the return of income as required by sub-section (5) of section 32AB and sub-section (4) of section 80HHC of the Income-tax Act. This question was answered by the Division Bench of this court in favour of the assessee. The Division Bench was of the opinion that it was not required to interpret the words "'shall not be permissible' as mandatory". It was further observed that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tatute has been followed sufficiently so as to carry out the intent of the statute and accomplish the reasonable objectives for which it was passed. Fiscal statute generally seeks to preserve the need to comply strictly with regulatory requirements that are important, especially when a party seeks the benefits of an exemption clause that are important. Substantial compliance with an enactment is insisted upon, where mandatory and directory requirements are lumped complied with, it will be proper to say that the enactment has been substantially complied with notwithstanding the non-compliance of directory requirements. In cases where substantial compliance has been found, there has been actual compliance with the statute, albeit procedurally faulty. The doctrine of substantial compliance seeks to preserve the need to comply strictly with the conditions or requirements that are important to invoke a tax or duty exemption and to forgive non-compliance for either unimportant and tangential requirements or requirements that are so confusingly or incorrectly written that an earnest effort at compliance should be accepted. The test for determining the applicability of the substantia ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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