IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “SMC” BENCH, MUMBAI BEFORE SMT. BEENA PILLAI (JUDICIAL MEMBER)

Assessment Year: 2022-23 Shelter Charitable Trust Vs. Income Tax Office B-wing 2^nd Floor, Halim Ward (2)(3), Mumbai Manzil, Maharashtra-400008 PAN: AAJTS9810K (Appellant) (Respondent)

Appellant by None Respondent by Shri. Sajit Nair, SR. D.R. Date of Hearing 11.02.2025 Date of Pronouncement 20.02.2025 ORDER Per: Smt. Beena Pillai, J.M.:

The present appeal filed by the assessee arises out of order dated 07/08/2024 passed by NFAC, Delhi, for assessment year

2022-23 on following grounds of appeal :

“(1) The Learned assessing office has erred inlaw Income Tax estimating of income at Rs 3382110/- Which most unjustified (2) The captioned Trust is under your jurisdiction in the charge of Income Tax Officer (Exemption), Ward 2(3), Mumbai. The Trust is a regular income tax assessee which has also been filing its returns regularly.Form 108 for AY 2022-23. The facts are stated as under (3) Our Trust is a charitable organization working for the benefits of the public. The accounts for the FY 2021-22 were finalized on 24.09.2022. Thereafter our Trust had handed over the financial statements to their ARITABLE a tutory auditor, M/s Javid Patel & Co. based out for preparing the report in Form 10B along with computation of income and income-tax turn in ITR-7. In relation thereto, M/s Javid Patel & Co. hadrequired the Trust to provide further details/clarifications and also be present with his Digital Signature Certificate for e-filing of the return of income. Mr. Zakir Husain Mohd Husain who is the Trustee of this Trust and is in-

charge of day-to-day affairs.

Earlier, the assignment was handled by M/s Mash & Associates. Up to March 21 all the returns & Audit report was done by previous auditor. However, in the month of June 2022 the assignment was given to Javid Patel & Co. for the Accounts finalization for March 2022 Due to Communication gap, new auditor was in impression that old firm has filed the audit report and skipped the filing of 108 on time. When outstanding demand received then the new auditor has filed the same after 194 days delay.

(4) In view of the foregoing, it is submitted that the Trust has been robbed of the exemption that was otherwise available to it u/s 11 of the Act for want of timely compliance to the requirement of furnishing the audit report in Form 108 (which was itself brought about by certain unfortunate and unavoidable circumstances). In this background, the trust is preferring the present application u/s 119(2)(b) of the Act, before your Honor, seeking condo nation of the purported delay of 194 days in the filing of Audit Report in the prescribed Form 108 for the reasons stated hereinabove. From the above narrated facts, it shall be appreciated that the inadvertent omission in the form of the non-filing of Form 108 within the due date, was not a deliberate act on the Trust's part. Thus, depriving the trust of the benefit/s 11 of the Act, which is conferred upon it under the statute, merely due to an inadvertent error, would be wholly unjust and disproportionately harsh. Hence, it is prayed that the delay in filing of Form 10B be condoned and necessary direction be issued to accept the Form 10B filed on 13.04.2023, in exercise of the powers conferred u/s 119(2)(b) of the Act, upon your Honor.

(5) Further, reference is made to the CBDT Circular No. 2/2020 [F. NO.

197/55/2018-ITA-I], dated 03.01.2020 (Annexure-5) wherein the Board has instructed the Hon'ble CIT's to expeditiously admit the belated applications for Form 10B and condone the delay for AYs 2018-19 and onwards, if the same is not beyond 365 days. The relevant extract of the Circular is as follows:

(6) In addition to the above, it has also been decided by the CBDT that where there is delay of upto 365 days in filing Form No. 10B for Assessment Year 2018-19 or for any subsequent Assessment Years, the Commissioners of Income-tax are hereby authorized to admit such bela