IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, ‘SMC’ BENCH, KOLKATA Before Shri Duvvuru RL Reddy, Vice-President (KZ)

I.T.A. No. 2235/KOL/2024 Assessment Year: 2022-2023 Bansal Foundation,………………………...……Appellant White House, 3rd Floor, 119, Park Street, Kolkata-700016 [PAN:AADTB0630J]

-Vs.-

Income Tax Officer,…………………………....Respondent Ward-1(2), (Exemption), 10B, Middleton Road, Kolkata-700071 Appearances by:

Shri S.K. Tulsian, Advocate, appeared on behalf of the assessee Shri Nicholash Murmu, Addl. CIT, D.R., appeared on behalf of the Revenue Date of concluding the hearing: January 07, 2025 Date of pronouncing the order: March 18, 2025 O R D E R The present appeal is directed at the instance of assessee against the order of ld. Addl./JCT(Appeals), Thane dated 19th September, 2024 passed for Assessment Year 2022-23.

2. Brief facts of the case are that the assessee is a Public Charitable Trust registered under section 12A of the Income Tax Act and filed its return of income alongwith audit report in Form

10B for the assessment year 2022-23 declaring total income of the assessee as ‘NIL’ after claiming exemption under section 11 of the Act. The return was processed under section 143(1) of the Act and assessed total income at Rs.34,00,000/- saying that Form 10B had not been e-filed within the prescribed due date, i.e. one month prior to the due date of filing of the return of income.

3. Aggrieved by the intimation issued by the CPC under section 143(1) of the Act, the assessee-appellant filed an appeal before the ld. CIT(Appeals) and the ld. Addl./JCIT(Appeals) after considering the submissions of the assessee dismissed the appeal saying that the ld. CIT(Appeals) does not have any power to condone the delay in filing Form No.10B and the adjustment made by the CPC denying the claim of exemption under section 11 of the Act is found to be in order and dismissed the appeal filed by the assessee.

4. On being aggrieved, the assessee preferred an appeal before the Tribunal and raised the following grounds:-

(1) That, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Ld. CIT(A), Thane erred in having upheld the total income of Rs.34,00,000/- computed in the Intimation u/s 143(1) of the Act dated 02.06.2023 as against declared by the assessee, a public charitable trust registered u/s 12A of the Act, in its ROI for the A.Y. 2022-23 at Nil after claiming exemption u/s 11 of the Act which has resulted into an arbitrary and uncalled for demand of Rs. 10,39,390/- upon the trust.

(2) That, the Ld. CIT(A) erred on facts and in law in having denied exemption u/s 11 of the Act on account of application of income of Rs.34,00,000/- which consisted of amount applied during the year of Rs.29,35,506/- and amount accumulated/set apart for application being Rs.4,64,494/- on the sole allegation that Form-10B had been filed beyond the due date as prescribed u/s 12A(b) of the Act and an avenue for relief was available only through a petition u/s

119(2)(b) of the Act.

(3) That, the Ld. CIT(A) while denying exemption claimed u/s 11 of the Act further erred in not having considered that the requirement of filing audit report in Form 10B before completion of the assessment is procedural one and that the exemption cannot be denied as long as the report was available to the A.O. before the assessment was completed.

(4) That, without any prejudice to the above, the Ld. CIT(A) in view of series of judicial pronouncements ought to have considered and decided as an appellate authority the issue on the condonation of delay of merely 28 days in filing Form 10B and allowing the exemption claimed u/s 11 of the Act instead of dismissing the appeal by stating the avenue for relief by filing petition u/s 119(2)(b) of the Act before the competent authority.

(5) That, therefore, the order of the CIT(A) should, accordingly, be quashed/modified and your appellant be given such relief or reliefs as prayed for.

5. I have heard both the sides. It was the submission of the ld. Counsel for the assess