Exemption under Section 11 should not be denied to the assessee merely on account of delay in filing audit report in Form 10B within the stipulated time if the same was furnished before passing of intimation under section 143(1).

32. (2025) 175 taxmann.com 1076 (Ahd Trib)

Bhakt Samaj Vikas Education Trust vs. ACIT

ITA No.: 775/Ahd/2025

A.Y.: 2021-22 Dated: 25.06.2025

Section 11

Exemption under Section 11 should not be denied to the assessee merely on account of delay in filing audit report in Form 10B within the stipulated time if the same was furnished before passing of intimation under section 143(1).

FACTS

The assessee was a trust registered under section 12A. It filed its return of income on 29.03.2024 for A.Y. 2021-22. The return of income was processed under section 143(1), disallowing the claim of exemption under section 11 on the ground that the assessee had not filed the audit report in Form 10B prior to the due date for furnishing return of income under Section 139(1). CIT(A) confirmed the disallowance.

Aggrieved, the assessee filed an appeal before ITAT.

HELD

Following the decisions of the Gujarat High Court and other judicial precedents, the Tribunal held that i